CMBlack: Blood of a Dog
by Vindicated Soldiers
Summary: For Cassy Black, third year was supposed to be about Hogsmead sweets and Gryffindor finally winning the House Cup. Instead, at the centre of it all is the escape of her murderous father, who has unveiled many secrets and impossibly tall tales that she and her friends can hardly imagine. Coupled with odd new acquaintances, it might be a trying year yet. Sequel to CMB:ToaS
1. Azkaban

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter I: Azkaban**

All windows in the house were open, trying to channel some of the occasional breeze that could make the scolding heat of late July bearable. The weather was unfavourable, even though the weather of Canterbury was known to be milder than other areas of the country, Cassy much preferred the winter months spent in Scotland with heavy snowfall and frosted windows.

She sat in the library upstairs, having pulled everything she wanted from the second floor and stuffing it into various places in the coolest room at the back of the house. Papers were strewn across the dark stained floorboards, some stacked against the chairs and rolled into a scroll, placed to one side, but not forgotten. A large piece of parchment was secured to the ground with weighty objects in each of the four corners, smoothing out the thick surface as Cassy carefully twisted the compass again, measuring out another two points to mark on.

Her right hand twisted over her left side, trying to reach for a finer piece of charcoal. 'Next time Cassy, perhaps you should move the paper around, rather than hopping to the other side. Or at least remember to move your equipment too,' she muttered to herself, leaning over precariously as she refused to remeasure the coordinates.

Just as her fingers connected, they slipped and she toppled sideways, the noise masked by the greater bang from downstairs. Cassy lay on the floor for a moment, eyes trained towards the open door. Several more bangs followed, then low, hushed voices, which quickly rose to shouts and thunderous footsteps. Moving quickly, she pulled herself up, folded her parchment and silently hurried to shut the door, grabbing her wand from the little table beside it.

'Strip everything down,' shouted a man from somewhere down the hall.

Cassy readied herself behind the sofa. She considered transfiguring the door, or adding a protective charm over the surface, but she knew it would only add suspicion. That would surely alert whomever was inside that there was already an occupant and although she liked to believe she was not completely defenceless, she had more sense than to assume she could singularly counter that many.

Alone I might have a chance, she thought. Ducking below the back of the chair, she sat stock-still, her wand still raised and ready as the door opened. Her heart gave a nervous jitter as the footsteps grew louder. She needed to contact Alphard, she reasoned, but there was nothing to be done for the moment, except hiding.

Silence. The door banged against the table behind it and then – nothing. There were no rushing footsteps and calling voices, no furniture was over-turned. There was only the slight shuffling of feet after a moment of complete stillness.

Cassy breathed slowly, watching a shadow spread across the wall in front of her, until the man himself was within sight. Balding and stout, he picked up a photo-frame from the little circular table not far from the sofa.

'Be careful, Martins,' came a voice. 'It would be best not to-'

Narrowing her eyes in thought, Cassy flicked her wand, whispering, 'Confundo!'

Martins staggered, the frame slipping from his hand and crashing to the floor. As the other man, whom Cassy looked to just long enough to spot his greying hair, rushed to his side to steady him, Cassy slipped out from behind the sofa. Her steps could not be heard over Matins' confused babbles and she dared not look back. Instead, she darted into the small cupboard as someone emerged from her bedroom. The door was then pushed to, allowing Cassy to crouch against the only clear wall space. She gave a great, uneven sigh into her hand.

She stayed there for a time, simply waiting for Alphard to return. No one entered, assuming it to be nothing more than a store cupboard for some of Alphard's less harmful creations and having checked it once, was certain there would be nothing of value within it. At least, that is what Cassy assumed as the invaders trekked back and forth, moving and upturning furniture, as if searching for something important.

Cassy kept her eyes trained on the ceiling, willing Alphard to hurry home.

There was another whoosh of sound, the Floo having been activated. More voices filled the living room, the loudest being a deep, gruff one that commanded authority and the sound that followed suggested he got it. Cassy frowned when she heard the heavy footstep, followed by a dull clunk.

Perhaps he had a walking stick, she mused. It was not a stick, but in fact, a wooden leg, as Cassy found when she was suddenly at his feet.

Pain coursed through her body, each muscle seizing, forcing her to remain on the floor where she had been forcibly relocated to. Her breath was shaky, lungs feeling like ice and her heart beating to fast in comparison. She could feel her eyes glazing over, losing focus, and just managing to see the huddle of feet that surrounded her.

* * *

Warmed, Cassy debated not rising, but her mind decided against it. She could not expect to agree with even herself that she should just stay put, but instead conceded in kicking her feet over the edge of the bed – her bed.

Despite the ransacking it had endured earlier, her bedroom appeared relatively unscathed. The furniture was shifted and many items out of place, even, Cassy noted with annoyance, her photograph of her, Harry and Neville she had been sent in previous June was dismounted from the wall.

She ran a hand over her cheek, irritated and sore. The voices downstairs could not be heard clearly through the closed door, but she was pleased to note there was a noticeable lack of shouting. Knowing that she needed to know what was happening, she stood and strode towards the door. Perhaps the invaders had locked her in, or perhaps they were no longer there at all, for it seemed strangely curious that they should tuck her into bed.

She pulled open the door, revealing a man with pale skin and a long, shiny face. 'You're up at last then.'

'Why are you here?' asked Cassy bluntly.

The man recoiled slightly and opened his mouth slowly. 'I'm Jennings. I'm here with the Auror squad.'

'And what business do Aurors have in my home?' she said lowly. She was missing something, she was sure of it. Alphard had never been known to delve into the darker aspects of magic, not publicly at least. Although he knew a lot about them, he had never practised any such art and so their house was void of anything the Ministry would find interesting, bar some very old texts that could be considered boarder line dark depending on who was viewing them. A raid just did not seem sensible.

Jennings did not reply immediately and when he did, it was to tell her that Alphard was downstairs and that he had requested her presence when she awoke. Neither of them made to move.

'I will not go first, you will have to,' she said.

'What?' asked Jennings, blinking in surprise. 'No, I have to keep an eye on you.'

'And I have to keep an eye on_ you_,' she said plainly. Mirroring his expression, Cassy lowered her eyebrows, eyes then sharpening in annoyance. 'What evidence do you have that you are an Auror?'

'Good, she has some sense,' said a voice from behind her.

Cassy whirled around, keeping her back angled to her door, enabling her to see both the new stranger and Jennings. Her hands flexed at her side when she took in his appearance; greyed hair, stout stature and a rough face. However, they were not the most defining feature, for what really set her on edge, was the large, protruding eye, electric blue in colour and darting madly from side to side.

'Like it?' he said gruffly. 'Nothing can past this eye, not even walls.'

Cassy, knowing it was too late to stop staring when he had already caught her, pursed her lips and gazed intently, waiting for him to say something else. When he did, he did not address her, but rather Jennings, whom he told to return to the attic to aid their investigation.

'Come with me, kid,' he then said to her.

Cassy was surprised when he turned his back on her, opting to follow slowly. From where she stood, she could see each step and with each one, got another glimpse of an odd, wooden foot that she could not quite make out properly. Squinting in thought, she leaned her head a little closer.

'Keep doing that, Lass, and your going to trip down the stairs,' he said lowly, startling her. She straightened up again and said nothing. Apparently his eye could do more than simply see through walls; it could see through the back of his head.

They reached the bottom of the staircase, his wooden foot clunking heavily and Cassy wondered how he ever managed to sneak up on her. None the less, she followed him into the sitting room, which was occupied by many faces, only one of whom she recognised. The room fell into silence.

'Cassy, sit,' said Alphard, tapping the seat next to him .

She strode through the centre of the room, carefully avoiding all eyes before placing herself down carefully. Folding her hands in her lap, she looked to him and received no further correspondence. His eyes were instead trained on the man who had collected her, who appeared not to be in any sort of hurry when he took a long swig from his hip-flask before speaking.

'Sorry for such a loud intrusion, Alphard, the first squad was sent while we were still discussing the matter. Not that there's much to be discussed is there? We've got to find him soon, or the nation will be in panic.'

'While I do not blame you, Alastor, I am livid at what the Ministry has done to my home. I have not seen him since he was a boy and I have no intention of now. He is not here,' replied Alphard icily.

'Now, now, Mr. Black. These are all precautions, you see. That's why we even have Moody here, but, you know,' said another man, waving to the gruff man, 'we thought – we thought that maybe he would... come back for her.' He jerked his head in Cassy's direction.

Quickly her eyes narrowed and a dozen questions bubbled in her mind, none of which left her mouth. Instead, she turned to Alphard, who was still not looking at her. Cassy's lips curled back when a woman spoke up, addressing her directly. She was not the only one, for Alphard tightened his hands into fists, too.

'Go back,' hissed Alphard, ' you have no business telling her. I will do it myself when I see fit.'

Had Cassy not been so irritated already, she may have blinked in surprise like the woman did. However, she merely tightened her hands together.

'Surely she needs to know now?' barked the woman, rising to stand.

'It is none of your-' started Alphard, words half-mingling with the woman's continuing ones.

'Your father-'

'My father?' repeated Cassy loudly. Silence followed her exclamation, even the woman looked unsure of herself now she had said it and shrunk back at the low growl from Alphard. 'What does that man have to do with anything?'

'Cassy, he's escaped Azkaban,' said Alphard, sighing.

She did not move. The words kept repeating in her mind as an odd sense of unease finally settled in her stomach. It had been a long time since she had felt it, a sense of panic that was not the one born from danger, or the adventurous panic she often felt as a child; but a fear from knowing nothing. She knew nothing at all about him.

The occupants shuffled, bar Moody who seemed not to have noticed the heavy atmosphere as he drank. They looked to each other, even the portraits gazed awkwardly around, some opting to leave their canvases all together for a cheerier one. The only nose came from upstairs, a loud bang followed by shattering, Alphard's storeroom finally penetrated and damaged in one fowl swoop.

Alphard stood, holding his arms stiffly by his side, said, 'I would like you all to leave.'

'You can't-' began the same man from earlier, but Moody held up his hand to silence him.

'There's nothing here. The squad upstairs should be done by now and Nymphadora will return soon with the report from the investigation team of Azkaban, many of us are needed there. We'll be off, but remember, if we get even a whiff that you're helping him, you'll find yourself hauled straight to the ministry, the girl too, if need be,' he said, before turning and striding out of the room. Slowly, the others followed silently, until only Cassy and Alphard were in the house.

The grandfather clock in the hall ticked loudly and the sound of Alphard's ring scraping on his trousers, a usually inaudible noise, broke the silence in the most aggravating of ways. Cassy would rather be faced with absolute solitude, silence that would allow her to calm and think, but there was no such place.

Eventually, she let out a shaky breath. There was not much Cassy would admit to being clueless towards, but this was one of them. She supposed she should feel angry, that her no-good father had escaped the impenetrable prison, or concerned for what her friends may think. However, these were only secondary to the burning rising from her heart. It was not sympathy or hope, but anger. Anger that reminded her he was nothing to her, title excluded he was nothing.

'Do you think he will come for me?' she said hoarsely. Her eyes remained fixed on a spot in front of her, refusing to move even as Alphard shifted and squeezed her hand tighter.

'Do you wish him to?'

'No.'

* * *

The house would take the better part of a day and a half to return to normal. Alphard had made a list of damages that he intended to bill the Ministry for, as well as lodging a complaint for the forcible use of spells on a minor.

Cassy retrieved her work from behind the sofa in the library where she had left it and was pleased to see it was very much in tact. Although Alphard was not. Upon discovering her transmutation diagram, she was thoroughly scolded and he threatened that if she was not already grounded for the summer, she surely would have been for attempting such a dangerous branch of magic at her age.

'You are only as young as you feel,' she said simply.

Alphard disagreed, stating the saying could not work both ways – Cassy did not see why not – and he was even less impressed with her comment stating that if he did not intend for her to further her studies while he is absent, he would secure his potion supplies better. The diagram was confiscated and Cassy was sent to her room after dinner, but she did not mind.

With legs crossed, she sat on her bed, holding a small, rectangular mirror. She tilted it back and forth, waiting for an image that was not her own to appear, like it had many times that summer.

'Harry,' she called. There was a flicker of movement, green paper against a white ceiling, then the familiar face of her friend popped into view.

'You haven't been trying too long, have you?' he asked, grinning. His hair was dishevelled and there were spots of water across the front of his black top, highly visible in the intense evening sun.

'Busy were you?' she said.

Harry nodded and looked down at his top, tutting, but still wiping his damp hands on the hem. 'I was washing up after dinner and Dudley threw a fork into the bowl. Needless to say, we got into an argument and I got sent to my room just now, which is why I look a bit of a mess.'

There was a rattling and a loud bark, causing Harry to look to the side with a smile. With a smile of her own, Cassy called, 'Hello, Hedwig.'

Hedwig barked again.

'She says hello,' said Harry.

Faintly, Cassy could hear movements before a sudden shout of, 'Will you keep that ruddy bird quiet?' came through Harry's door. He gave a half-hearted apology back and turned to Cassy expectantly.

'So,' he said, 'how have you been?'

Cassy grimaced. 'I have something I need to tell you and it is not good news, so please listen carefully.' She paused and Harry nodded, saying nothing and allowing her to collect herself. Cassy looked up at the ceiling for a moment, not wanting to see his concerned stare, because she did not want to see how it would change by the end of her explanation. 'Yesterday, something happened that the rest of society is not yet aware of.'

'Yes,' prompted Harry.

'My- someone...' she stumbled, biting her lip. It should not have been so difficult to begin, but it was. She wanted to just say it, admit that her father had escaped and see how he reacted, but she could not. She had to think. 'Do you remember in out first year that I said my father is not around and that I have never met him? Well, that is because for the last twelve years he has been in Azkaban.'

'Your dad's in prison?' said Harry loudly, eyebrows shooting to his hairline. 'Right, so – uh-'

'You can ask why,' she said flatly, glancing down at the mirror to see him staring sheepishly.

'Okay, so – er, why?'

'To be blunt, he killed thirteen Muggles,' she said as Harry stared, 'with one curse, apparently.'

'One curse? You can't kill that many people with one curse,' protested Harry. 'So, how is this news no one knows of yet? Has he been released?'

There was a moment of silence, before Cassy spoke quietly, 'No, he has escaped.'

'Escaped Azkaban?' parroted Harry.

'Escaped Azkaban,' she confirmed.

'But that's impossible.'

'So they say,' she said with a sigh. 'Look, I only found out earlier today when the Ministry raided my home. They seem to think... he may try and see me, but others seemed a little more sceptical when it was said. They have not told us much at this stage, just that we are going to be monitored.'

Harry was quiet for a moment, various emotions flickered across this tanned face. He watched Cassy with unnerving thought, forcibly holding her gaze. Eventually, he said, 'Why wouldn't he want to see you?'

'That's – that's also complicated,' she said. 'Besides the Ministry and Alphard and I, you are the only person that knows. I need you to tell Neville, Hermione, Ginny, and Dean not to send me any letters for the rest of the summer, I probably will not receive them anyway. I don't want any one else involved, either.'

Harry nodded slowly. 'What should I tell them?'

'The truth I suppose, although, when it is revealed that he has escaped, I am sure they will all figure it out on their own.' Cassy thought that Harry had taken the news remarkably well, despite being shocked. She could tell he was holding something back, his tone slightly strained, but his face held concern for her that she had not expected, but upon considering this, knew she probably should have. Harry often cared too much, he was too kind and forgiving. To think anything less of him would be insulting; she should have had more faith in her friends.

They spoke a while longer, trailing off the topic of her father and onto more trivial matters, such as Harry's sudden sun tan, or the crack in the left lens of his glasses. They parted at midnight and Harry's final words were not to worry and he said it with a smile, making Cassy offer a lopsided one back at him in relief.

* * *

**A short chapter by my usual standards by a few thousand words, but it is intended to kick the year off. I hope you like it so far!**

**I always assumed that the houses of those he was close to would be raided and considering this one holds his daughter I thought it was an appropriate place to begin looking. I know Moody was retired by this point, but I kind of feel that a high-profile Death Eater breaking out of the most secure prison in the world might call for him to be doing a little sideline work.**

**Anyway, I will update within the next two weeks when my writing has moved in a bit. **

**Thanks!**


	2. More than a pretty face

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter II: More than a pretty face**

Like Cassy had suspected, both her and Alphard's mail was being intercepted. It was often returned in a less than perfect state, and - on several occasions – too late to be of any real use. On top of this, the Floo Network was also monitored, which was not wholly inconvenient as Cassy was still grounded and Alphard simply left for work on most occasions. Even the front entrance was monitored, but due to the warding and Alphard's own influence within the Ministry and seemingly Lucius' help, they had managed to prevent any more searches or random visits by officials.

Cassy stood in the kitchen, watching Plum mix the cake batter with a wooden spoon. As soon as the little elf turned to pick up more flour, Cassy leant over and dipped a teaspoon in. She pulled back quickly, ignoring the smack on her arm and stuck the spoon in her mouth.

'It needs more sugar,' she said.

'No, it doesn't,' argued Plum. 'Too much sugar is bad for you, Miss! You have too much already.'

Cassy frowned for a second, before shaking her head and pulling the little pot out of Plum's hands. 'Don't add blueberries, they are awfully bitter.'

'Master Black likes them though,' said Plum, twisting around on her stool.

'Yes, but why ruin a good treat with bitter things? I don't understand how people can like them,' said Cassy, putting the pot down.

Plum did not move to add any, obeying Cassy's command, and instead opted to add more butter to make the cupcakes lighter. She often asked if Cassy had any input and had long since gotten used to the unnerving eyes watching her every move, but lately she had become more adventurous in her cooking and it often ended with a strange concoction Cassy was reluctant to eat on principal. Today was one of those days and Cassy was keeping a close eye on exactly what went into the mixture.

'When did you add cinnamon?' asked Cassy, when it became very apparent she had not watched closely enough. The house now smelt like gingerbread men opposed to the vanilla cupcakes they were making ten minutes ago.

Plum hummed, twisting on her stool so she could reach the sink. 'A moment ago, I thought it would be a nice change.'

While Cassy could not imagine vanilla, cinnamon and ginger in one cupcake, she said nothing. Instead, she allowed Plum to clean up and retreated to the cleaner end of the table, taking the tattered cookbook the scales had been propped up on with her. She sat, flicking to the contents page and letting out a hum of interest when she read down the page.

_Frothing Fig Fingers, _she read with a frown. Turning to the page, there was a sketched picture of a cake-like rectangle, drizzled with a darker substance. As she read off the ingredients, her eyebrows rose.

There was a whoosh from the living room and a dull thud of a briefcase being dropped, yet Cassy did not look up. She called to him, greeting him loudly and earning a tut in response.

'Cooking again, are we?' he said as he sat down opposite her.

'Something like that,' she replied. 'What an odd cook book this is though.'

Alphard frowned, taking his coffee that Plum made him. 'What book is it?'

Without pausing, Cassy lifted the book up so she could still read and Alphard was able to see the front cover. Her eyebrows rose over the top of the book again as she read step seven, but they then rose higher when the book was quickly snatched from her. Alphard stood quickly, giving her a pointed look before striding over to the counter and slipping the book onto the top of the cupboards, out of Cassy's reach unless she were to kneel on the side board.

'You should not be looking at that,' he said firmly. He sat back at the table, resuming Cassy's usual seat as she had temporarily occupied his when her own was messy.

'Why do you have a book on poisonous cakes?' she asked curiously.

He shook his head. 'It's not mine, it was your Grandmother's. She insisted it may be useful when dealing with a particularly persistent woman. I never did use it and before I could return it she died. I had almost forgot it existed.' He sipped his coffee and promptly ignored Cassy's amused stare, knowing he had triggered her interest at mentioning he had once had a potential lover – something he had never mentioned in the briefest sense before.

Cassy said nothing of it, however, instead opting to ask, 'Did Grandmother have a lot of books like that then?'

'She had a lot of many books, Child. It would be terribly ignorant to believe that just because she was not part of the Dark Lord's circle meant that she did not support him. Oh no, she had many things she should not have, yet even in her death she has kept that a secret from the Ministry.'

It was not a secret as such, for everyone had suspicions about the family. They would make little to no effort in hiding their beliefs and with such fanatical opinions usually came a very sinister assumption, most of which was true for a majority of the people, the Blacks being no exception. However, to their most prominent families, the Ministry would turn a blind eye for the most part, which the Malfoy's had used to their advantage on more than one occasion.

'So were the items sold or spread between the family,' she asked with interest. Cassy knew little about her Grandmother beyond what she remembered from the occasional meeting when she was young. However, as Cassy was five when she died, she remembered little, other than the shrilly, commanding voiced that would reprimand her for swinging her legs from the chair and a frequent phrase of "Little girls should be seen and not heard, now be quiet". While not fond memories, Cassy was still intrigued.

'Neither,' Alphard answered blandly. 'She never wrote a will because she never thought she would die. Even on her death bed she was too stubborn to admit it. Instead, her things were left to your father by default, including the house as it is the main household. No one has been able to enter it for years.'

'I thought my father was disowned,' said Cassy with a frown. She suddenly felt uncomfortable with the topic of her father, but if Alphard noticed he did not comment, and nor was Cassy going to, for it was a chance to know a little bit more about her family than she had been told before. She was curious, despite herself and although she knew a lot of history, she was never taught anything beyond the necessities, or simple twisted facts that ensured the member in question looked weak or traitorous. Her Grandparents rarely cropped up in conversation, beyond a comment of what they would say if they could see society now, or the occasional jab that Lucretia was channelling her brother Orion, Cassy's Grandfather.

Alphard sighed wistfully and placed down his coffee, knowing he was not going to be able to drink it before it got cold. 'He was and your uncle Regulas was going to become the Head, however, he disappeared when he was seventeen and my dear sister realised she was running out of heirs. You see, if she could have she would have picked anyone over him, but there were no other male Blacks besides Cygnus and I – and she was not too fond of me still -, and neither of us had wives, so in the long run it would have done the family no good. So, she was forced to reinstate him. However, I do not believe she ever told him, he was in Azkaban by this point.'

'You never did tell me why she was upset with you,' commented Cassy, making Alphard sigh deeply again.

'Your father was disowned because he ran away. He said he could not take their bigotry anymore,' he paused for a moment, wearing a frown that matched Cassy's own.

For someone to abandon their family only to turn and support their cause whole-heartedly by becoming a Death Eater was not something that was easy to process. Cassy could not help but wonder if her father's plans had been in motion that long, if he intended to win the trust of those around him so he was in a better position to aid Voldemort, or if, although she found it very doubtful, he had been genuinely frightened by his parents, wanting nothing more than to escape and live and she did now – accepting and trying to dissolve the restraints the Black family name cursed them with. She shook her head. It was impossible, for Cassy knew she could never do what her father had done, she would never become like the rest of them in their time.

Alphard continued, 'He was my favourite nephew, lively and clever – very clever, in fact. He never had a dull thing to say and was often too curious for his own good.' Cassy did not miss the pointed look he shot her. 'But incredibly hard-headed and I knew he would not have thought about the consequences properly before he made his decision, so I opted to help him settle again. I gave him a descent sum of money and Walburga found out. I was promptly blasted from the tapestry in a fit of rage, but not disowned, Orion would not allow her to disown me for that. She never really forgave me for it and when he died in seventy-nine, I half expected her to do it then, but she did not, she always respected Orion's wishes, even when she believed them to be wrong.'

'Do you regret helping him?' asked Cassy after a moments silence. Her voice was quiet, unsure on how to broach the question.

Alphard twisted the cup, staring directly in it as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his other hand. Slowly he shook his head. 'No, no. He... was a different man when he was fifteen. I never could have known he would do what he did. Not to his friends, not like that -'

'His friends?'

'Nevermind,' he said suddenly. 'Enough of that, you have reminded me of something else that will undoubtedly be of more value to you now than that.'

Cassy frowned, but did not push the topic any further. She supposed that he would have betrayed his Gryffindor friends by supporting Voldemort and while their was obviously more to the story, Alphard did not let her dwell on it.

'It is about your friend, Mister Potter. It would appear that last night the Ministry became quite flustered because he decided to runaway from his relatives home.'

'Runaway?' repeated Cassy. Her heart sunk in her chest. She knew something had been wrong last year, but Harry had assured her it was fine and that his relatives never did anything to harm him, they simply were afraid of what the neighbours would think seeing Hedwig.

He lied to me, she thought bitterly.

'Yes, at night, apparently. Luckily he turned up at the Leaky Cauldron not half-an-hour later, safe and sound,' he assured.

'So, he discovered the Knight Bus on his own then,' commented Cassy. 'Why were the Ministry so concerned? I understand that he is the Boy-Who-Lived, but he would not be the first to run away.'

Alphard was silent for a moment, before speaking slowly. 'Given the climate, it is best that no one wanders.'

'Is this about my father? It is, isn't it? It is unlike you to be so delicate regarding the Ministry.' She stared at him blankly, her voice hard and pointed. She knew the moment that Alphard had refused to say exactly how it concerned Harry that it also concerned her, because he gave her nothing to work with, no ideas to run on, so she could not speculate. She did, however, she always did and it was a trait that Alphard was finding increasingly exasperating and difficult to deal with the older she got.

'I do wish that you would let things be sometimes,' he said with a sigh.

'Uncle,' she said warningly.

'It does not concern you at this time.' With definite finality in his tone, he rose, pushing back his chair and taking his cup to the sink. Nothing further was said and he departed swiftly, leaving Cassy alone at the table, only accompanied by Plum, who was taking the cakes out of the oven in an awkward hurriedness.

* * *

Violins and cellos echoed through the hall, drowning out the sound of clicking heels and polite laughter. They played quickly, increasing in pitch, forcing the dancing to pick up pace too and the gowns to billow out as the women were twirled and lifted by their partners.

Adorned in a pale blue dress with black embroidery, Cassy did not look half as pleased as she was sure she was expected to. She found, for the first time, she did not care how these people judged her. Her mind was preoccupied with Alphard's earlier words and his complete reluctance to even address the subject of Harry or her father later did nothing to settle her thoughts. Try as he might to distract her – even to the point of trying to wind her up by forcing her to attend a silly ball he had promised she could avoid – nothing worked and they both knew they were fighting losing battles. Alphard was not going to tell her and Cassy was not about to leave it well enough alone.

She could feel her uncle's eyes on her from where he stood at the beverage table. As she leant back against the stone wall, she sneaked a glance at him, catching his eye for a moment before he turned to smile politely at a large-nosed woman, who appeared to be recalling a story. Cassy sighed and ducked her head back down, folding her hands together in front of her. She wondered how long she would have to stand separated from the crowd for him to take pity and to agree to leave. When her eyes wandered to the large clock on the end wall of the hall, she knew it would be a while, for Alphard's pity for her would not overcome his need to keep allies and appearances in his work. It rarely did and certainly not for when he believed her to be sulking unnecessarily.

This is most certainly not unnecessary, she thought as she fiddled with her bracelet.

Despite her thoughts, she did not miss the additional body in her space. Without looking she knew they were her own age, only probably half-a-head taller than her, with pale skin and dressed in recognisably expensive black clothing. She also knew by his fingers that he was not a first born male, for he lacked a signet ring.

'Can I help you?' she asked, finally moving to meet his gaze. She faltered slightly, reigning in her twitch by smiling politely just in time.

He smiled back, holding out a goblet for her to take and when she did, muttering a quiet "thank-you", he still said nothing. He simply looked back at the dancing couples, dark eyes reflecting the candle light above.

Cassy thought about repeating herself, but dismissed it quickly. Unhappy or not, she had no right to be impolite to a boy who brought her a drink – even if she had no intention of touching the liquid.

'Do you want to dance?' he asked suddenly. 'I feel like dancing and you're all alone. Ah! Don't say no, there is no reason you can't dance with me.' He raised his eyebrows at her as soon as she opened her mouth and shook his head playfully. Holding out his hand, he waited patiently until she placed the goblet on the table and took the offering.

Cassy was less than amused. She would not deny she enjoyed dancing, but if she could have danced with anyone else, she would have. Perhaps it showed on her face, for the boy laughed.

'Having a nice night, are we?'

'Splendid,' she replied lightly, lips curling into a polite, charming smile she had worn many times before with no sincerity. 'One dance.'

He placed his hand on her waist as she put hers on his shoulders. He nodded, 'One dance should be long enough.'

Cassy felt her insides squirm at that. She did not ask what it would be long enough for, instead, her feet began to move to the notes of the piano and the two were quickly surrounded by others. Looking over his shoulder, she could not see Alphard anymore and although she looked intently, she could not see much of anything past the bright dresses and dark suits.

'I'm Benjamin Shandy, by the way,' the boy said, forcing her attention back to him. 'If you're looking for a quick escape route, there is none. You can't leave easily without making a scene.'

Her head tilted and she smiled at him, fighting the urge to tighten her grip on his shoulders in warning and her lips pressed closed for a moment longer than normal to fight a biting laugh.

'What can I help you with, Shandy?' she asked.

'What, no mister?' he said in mock surprise.

'Ah,' she said in the same tone, 'but that would imply you have either earnt my respect, which you have not, or are in a better social position than I. Seeing as neither is applicable, I see no need for it.' She was still smiling and so was he, but they were both strained and he twisted her too roughly, making her stumble, but in the crowd, no one noticed.

'So, it is true. You are snarky, Little Miss Gryffindor. Then again, I am not really surprised after what you did at Christmas,' he said.

I knew it, she thought instantly. She had recognised the boy instantly, his gelled back black-hair and his dark eyes were both very distinctive and exactly as they had been last Christmas when she had faced him in a game of chess. What she could not fathom, however, was how he knew it was her. After all, she had been Daphne Greengreass that evening.

She could not stop the quickening of her heart or the paling of her already chalky skin. However, her body remained moving and her feet stayed in rhythm, rather than taking flight like she wished to. Her eyes widened slightly against her best attempt to remain neutral and he smirked.

'Didn't think anyone would know? I do have to admit it was impressive and it took me a very long time to piece it all together.'

They twirled as the music picked up speed.

A pleasant smile pulled on her features and as quickly as the panic rose it settled again. Her mind slowed, fingers repositioned gently over his shoulders, with her large eyes crinkling in a most convincing smile. 'Christmas? Do expand.'

Shandy smiled back warmly and spoke in a slow, light tone that one might have used had he been reading a chapter from _the tales of Beetle the _Bard to a child.'You see, I had heard that the icy Miss Greengrass was cunning, clever and dangerous, but also that she was simply _dreadful_ at chess. Now, I like people who can give me a challenge, so I decided that with a reputation like that, it might be worth breaking her down by defeating her because she had not been rising up to me at all. It was getting boring. Then, one evening she agrees, aggravated and distracted. Imagine my surprise when she not only asked me about the Chamber of all things, but beat me at chess! I knew something wasn't right then, but it wasn't until many weeks later that I realised I had told my ideas to a stranger, a very clever stranger.'

'A stranger? Whatever do you mean?' she said.

He shrugged. 'I don't know, it was quite curious really. I stared in shock when I realised I had been beaten and I looked up to see her retreating out the door. Greengrass' hair is not hip length and that was my first clue. It is also what lead me to believe it was Polyjuice potion that _you _used.

'Then, Greengrass came back later, claiming she had been in the hospital wing since dinner with her friends. This was extremely odd, I expected her to brag, but when I brought it up, she denied it fully. She said I was crazy. That made me think about her strange behaviour, but I must admit, I still thought she was lying.

'Then it happened! You were petrified and rumours spread like wildfire. It wasn't the first time I had heard of you, I didn't know you at all, but it was easy to wrangle your description out of people. I was interested then why a Gryffindor half-blood was attacked, it was a game changer, really.'

'You sound awfully joyful about all of this, but I'm afraid I cannot help you, I simply cannot begin to tell you what occurred in my holidays, but sneaking into the Slytherin Common room was not one of them,' commented Cassy. Her eyes were narrowed in disgust and thought; she was finally seeing how things were piecing together and to see it at the time would mean Shandy had to be smart, a genius, even. He was a genius who was looking at her as if she had just told him she was Merlin.

'I am jolly, because I realised everything at the end of the year and it all made sense. You pretended to be Greengrass to get information from the people that would know best. You used Polyjuice potion, a sixth-year potion at that, did you brew it yourselves?' Cassy did not reply, but it did not seem to matter; he had made up his mind. 'You then began to investigate more thoroughly and got in the way of the heir, so you and your friend - Granger, is it? - were petrified. By any chance was she Davies? You acted odd together, so it had to be one of your group. Then, you all must have figured out the entrance because when Miss Weasley was taken in, it was Potter who did not arrive on the train. Professor McGonagall almost had a heart-attack when she checked their names again and he wasn't there. She even did an announcement over the intercom to make sure he had not rushed ahead and got on. What were the other two called? One was Weasley and the other I can't remember in the slightest.'

Cassy openly scowled at him being so rude about her friends, especially Neville. The nonchalant way he spoke of him sounded as if he viewed him as insignificant, which he probably did, but to say it to one of his friends was a social taboo that she was sure even the irritating, eccentric boy in front of her must have known.

'Oh, don't pull that face. He is of no interest to me. Why would I remember the names of those who are no use – ow!' He recoiled, taking his hands off her hips.

She gripped his shoulders tighter, a devilish smirk on her face. 'Now who is making a scene?' she taunted softly.

'You stomped on my foot in those boots of yours!' he hissed. With his eyebrows still knitted down, he resumed his position and the pair fell back into step with the other dancers.

'I am tired of listening to you,' she said pleasantly. 'I believe this is by far the longest song you could have offered me to dance to. Your choice, I presume?'

'Yes. It was never going to be a particularly short explanation and I couldn't have you running off.'

'Had I wanted to, Shandy, I would have departed at any time, regardless of what they thought. If you have researched me as I expect you will have done, you should know that I am not always one for keeping up with social expectations. Besides, your bizarre theory of my _double-life_ was a most intriguing tale.'

'I remember that during your sorting, I was interested when it called out Gryffindor, I actually bothered to look up. However, you ruined it for me when you befriended Potter. You became just another Golden Girl Goer- ow!'

'I will have you know that I was not overly fond of him at first. I assumed he was going to be arrogant and then exceedingly dull,' she hissed. Truthfully, she had not expected much from Harry, she had not been raised to respect his actions or praise his triumph. That did not mean she hated him, nor did she wish to use his power as Draco had, instead she simply had no interest in him until the day they properly met in the library and she saw that sweet boy with a charming smile and good heart. She saw he could laugh and joke and in time that he really was fearless and it was that what propelled her to become friends with him. Harry had always been just Harry and she would have no one telling her she had thought differently.

'Good, he doesn't do much to deserve his attention, kind of like that cousin of yours- ow. For Melin's sake woman, stop pinching me. That's twice now,' he groaned. 'Can you not take a joke?'

'Yes, but you are hardly joking. Besides, I am not interested in this conversation. What I want to know is why tell me this theory of yours and what you intend to do about it?' she said lowly.

The music grew quieter and they both slowed to a halt. The trailing notes were soon smother by chattering and many people began to move away, except Cassy and Shandy, who remained close together in the middle of the floor, both their faces set.

Shandy shrugged, readjusting his cuff-link easily. 'Nothing.'

'Nothing?' repeated Cassy. When he did not move to mend the statement, she scowled and laughed bitterly. 'You expect me to believe you will do nothing?'

'I have no current intentions anyway,' he said simply.

'Oh, please, this is for some far off blackmail plot, isn't it? You are just letting me know so it can forever hang over my head. If you were even to try it, there would not be a soul who would believe you. The Slytherin's believe I am simply another idiotic Lion and the Lions believe that I am of no harm, but if they did believe you, it would only be an applause I receive. This action would not harm me, because the teachers have more faith than that, I am, after all, merely a student.' She spoke softly, leaning close to his face and all the while wearing a pleasant smile that would be considered friendly to anyone who could not hear her words. 'My heritage would speak for a lot as well, because the Shandy's are only a newly recognised Noble family, are they not? The influence and power a name can hold within the Ministry means that you will have to find something far more _grievous _than this idea of yours to harm _my_ future, but your reputation just _might_ get a little tarnished at the end of it.'

Shandy did not falter, nor appear concerned. Instead, he appeared absolutely delighted with her, as if she had answered him exactly as he had wished to hear. 'You really are more than just a pretty face. How Slytherin of you to try and twist the arm of the one who holds yours. I did pick right, you might just be interesting yet. I just thought that telling you that you have my attention was a little less confronting than forcing you to speak to me throughout the year,' he said, smiling again.

'If you were to think back to these last five minutes, I believe you will find you are most mistaken,' she said blandly, placing a hand on her hip.

He laughed and shrugged again. 'Probably, but this is a lot less effort on my part and it creates a better impression. I don't want to be friends, Black, I just want you to know that I'll be around. You're entertaining and I tire easily.' His voice dropped towards the end and Cassy felt chills ripple up her spine.

'Ta-ta!' he said, retreating towards a table of dark-haired people, who had been watching him intently for the last minute.

Cassy remained in the spot until he sat, before turning slowly to resume her place at the wall. Ten paces later, he arm was grabbed and she was wheeled around to face Draco, his face contorted into a serious stare.

'Are you all right?' he asked, gripping her other arm as well.

'Yes,' she said. Secretly, Cassy was pleased her voice sounded so strong.

'You looked a little dazed. What did Shandy say to you?' asked Draco.

Cassy shook her head. There was nothing she could tell him truthfully, so she told him the vaguest response she could give. 'He asked me to dance and he turned out to be very... odd.'

'Yeah,' nodded Draco, 'he's a little weird at school too. He has no friends, actual friends, as far as anyone knows and he is either bland when speaking or really excited. Don't let him near you though, nothing good can come from him. He may be a loner, but I think that's because he's a genius, the things he knows... he's trouble. Cassy, you shouldn't have danced with him.'

'I think I realised that,' she muttered. Draco had told her nothing she had not already worked out, so she was not surprised, but for him to actually be concerned for her in a public place did concern her. It meant Shandy had a reputation that even Draco heeded and for her hard-headed cousin, that was quite an accomplishment.

'I like your shoes, Black,' said a voice from beside them.

The pair turned to look and simultaneous raised their eyebrows at the sight of the real Daphne Greengrass. Cassy thanked her politely, before letting her eyes trail over to the smaller blonde by Greengrass' side. She had a pretty, oval shaped face and the same blue eyes, although almond in shape. Cassy could clearly see the resemblance.

'This is my younger sister, Astoria,' said the elder Greengrass. 'She is starting Hogwarts this year, so I am introducing her to people as this is her first ball.'

'Hello,' said the little Greengrass, her voice filled with confidence that did not really match her soft expression. 'It is nice to meet you.'

'Nice to meet you,' echoed Cassy and Draco.

The four stood in silence for a moment. The music started up again and Cassy turned her attention to the mousy-haired woman who was beginning to sing, although not excellent, her spirit made up her performance far more enjoyable than the next, who was so serious it was dull, despite her talented voice. The four remained in a huddle to watch the stage, although Cassy was not sure what the purpose of introducing Astoria Greengrass to them was if she was not going to do it to everyone. Perhaps she had already done so to many, after all, with the amount of people gathered closer to watch and dance there were few to choose from in terms of company.

'Malfoy, go and get Astoria and I drinks,' Greengrass ordered.

Draco turned to her with his eyebrows knitted down and his mouth open, aghast. 'Do it yourself. I am not a house-elf.'

'Oh, I thought you would be now that your elf was set free. How embarrassing, to have to do all that work yourself. Just go and be a proper gentleman for once and get the drinks. I wouldn't want to give your poor mother another task to complete,' sneered Greengrass.

Cassy's eyebrows shot up and she was not the only one, but Draco's descended into a heavy scowl almost immediately.

He stalked off, shoulders hunched with a very audible mutter of: 'You would suspect my mother cleans, wouldn't you? After all, with how your mother looks, it is probably the only job your father can give her.'

'What did you say?' shrieked Greengrass as she ploughed after him, knocking shoulders with several elderly witches and wizards as she did.

'I ask that you excuse my cousin, he often does not have much of a filter between his brain and his mouth,' said Cassy as she turned from the pair. 'I ask the same reprieve from the littlest Greengrass, as her sister's comment was also uncalled for.'

The younger girl frowned, but nodded. 'Yes, I ask that you excuse my sister too. However, if you must try and separate us, call me Astoria. "Littlest Greengrass" is a name I don't want.'

'It is what you are, but fine. Besides, should you be giving your first name to a Gryffindor?' asked Cassy with a smirk.

Astoria shrugged, a reaction Cassy seemed to be getting more and more that evening. 'If it means you won't call me that, I'm sure I'll manage.'

'I make no promises,' said Cassy nonchalantly, making Astoria purse her lips. 'However, I have to ask what is it that your sister wanted. She usually tried to avoid me and do not say it is nothing, because if it were simple introductions, she would have moved on far sooner.

Astoria shifted and looked at the stage, clapping as a man took a seat at the grand piano.'Something about someone Shandy and wanting to know about it and also because she wanted to ask about your father. He's Sirius Black, right? The one who escaped from Azkaban not long ago? Do you know where he is?'

It became quite clear that the girl had not attended many functions at all, because to ask such questions so openly were not only frowned upon, but she just kept going. She had half a dozen questions she wished to have answered with little to no realisation that Cassy was not going to. Perhaps the girl would make Slytherin as she was definitely prideful, but her tact could use some work, Cassy decided.

As Astoria waited for a reply, Cassy peered around and for the first time that evening, caught the eyes of the elder generation staring, not just at her, but all of the members she could locate within immediate sight. Many of them looked away, but some held her gaze for a few seconds longer, unashamed and unconcerned. Worse of all at the far table, she could see Shandy, watching her still.

And suddenly I'm popular, she thinks bitterly.

* * *

**Well, this may not be what you all expected, but here is chapter two!**

**It was always a thought I had when reading Harry Potter that Hermione seemed to be the only extraordinarily witted person there. Thus, I created Cassy and intelligence draws to others of like mind. Shandy is being introduced with a greater purpose that just an irritation to Cassy. He was purposefully kept vague in the Christmas chapter of second year, but he was always going to be introduced. Hopefully he isn't too annoying, brooding Slytherins begin to bore me after a time of writing them, so he's a little bit of snide cheer! I ask that you bare with me for this, because the point of him probably won't become obvious for a very long time. Five points to anyone who can guess off the bat, though!**

**The chapter is more about learning than any real forward progression, so it might be considered filler. I wrote it for character development more than anything. I apologise if it was not what you were expecting. **

**Thanks!**

P.S, _**A.N: To those who read chapter 20 of Tongue of a Snake before 23/06/13, I ask that you go back and re-read it. The originally uploaded chapter was not the version I actually intended it to be. It was not until I found the correct one that I realised. I apologise for that. It is different, but not massively that you cannot manage without reading it, but it is written better and deals with things differently. However, now I have changed it I'm not happy with that one either, haha. It is just a chapter I'll never be content with.**_


	3. Faceless fears

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter III: Faceless fears**

While Cassy did not want to admit she was potentially compromised, she knew she had to. Her friends were less than impressed about her keeping a secret from them the previous year – especially as it involved them – so presumably they would not appreciate remaining ignorant about Shandy.

Harry had taken the news fairly well, after cursing and ringing his hair tightly, he calmed and asked what they were to do about it. Although he was not too pleased with doing nothing and waiting for things to develop, he agreed, assuring her he would inform Neville and Hermione when he saw them, as he was not too certain about the sudden Ministry protectiveness. If someone were to read such a letter it would be disastrous, sure to result in expulsion and Cassy did not think she could survive as a Muggle at that moment.

She had joked about it and Harry told her not to worry, stating she could live with him and he would teach her Muggle things. Laughing as she grimaced, their tone became lighter and they joked about trying to adapt.

'At what point in my life do you think I would have ever had to cook for myself?' asked Cassy. While her tone was jovial, she was actually quite serious, for she had never made anything more than a drink, it just simply did not happen and Harry found it all the more amusing.

'One summer,' he said shaking his head, 'I will teach you how to cook, I promise.' Although assuring her that he was, in fact, a very good cook, Cassy remained sceptical and said she would hold him to it, even if she probably would never need to know how to again.

The days past quicker after that and with each passing one, Cassy reminded herself she was soon off to Hogwarts where she could roam the grounds and converse freely, rather than the house-arrest she was unofficially under at home. Although they had not had an inspector in for two weeks by September first, she was packed and ready to go, more impatient than she had been in her first-year. She felt slightly guilty for it, knowing that she was to leave Alphard to deal with it alone, but his coolness and his silence to her over the past few weeks ebbed at the guilt, assuring her it was okay to wish to leave. It had not been much of a family summer afterall and she had only seen her cousins three times, a mere one more than the previous, despite their better terms.

The journey to the station was very much the same as it had been for the past two years, although accompanied by far more stares and far fewer voices. The moment the pair had moved through the barrier, the reaction was instantaneous; voices died and interest peaked, although deterred greatly by the two Blacks' frosty stares. They were early as usual, but Alphard made no move to find her a compartment so he could leave for work, instead opting to stand with her and wait for her friends to arrive.

'Thank-you,' she muttered, despite her current resentment for him, as he scared off another student that walked by a little too close and stared a little too long.

'Be careful this year and I mean it,' he mumbled back. 'Last year you completely ignored me, but this will effect more than just your health; your happiness and your friendships with be strained and tested, so please do not ostracise yourself this time. You do not wish to stand out any more than this will already force you to.'

Cassy nodded, before her face relaxed slightly. She could see Harry, Neville and Hermione pass through the barrier with Mrs. Longbottom trailing behind. Thankfully, she did not need to call, they spotted her soon enough and it was not long until Alphard was patting her on the shoulder and bidding them all good-bye once more.

Slowly, Cassy dragged her belongings onto the train, watching Alphard disappear to another lunchtime appointment with his work colleges and then, Cassy had overheard, he was off to an early dinner with his good friend Mrs. Longbottom – which Cassy considered rather cute, while Neville seemed embarrassed.

'You don't think they talk about us, do you?' he asked as they dragged their trunks along the too narrow corridor of the train.

'While I would like to say they had better things to speak of, I am sure we arise at points,' said Cassy, smiling as Neville groaned.

'I bet Alphard thinks I'm weird, Gran always says things that make me sound so- so-'

'Incompetent?' offered Cassy lightly.

Neville turned his head, slightly disgruntled and nodded. 'Yeah. Cheers, Cassy,' he said, before walking straight into the back of Harry. Apologising, he heaved his trunk upwards again and peered into the compartment that Cassy was too far back to see clearly.

'Okay,' said Hermione, re-emerging. She picked her trunk back up from where she abandoned it in the middle of the gangway and hauled it straight into the compartment opposite the one she just exited. 'This one is perfect.'

'Why exactly?' asked Harry.

They filed in and he helped lift everyone's belongings as he was the tallest.

'What? Why is this one perfect?' she asked distractedly, too busy unlocking the wicker-basket she held. 'Because it is opposite a teacher and I just thought that if anything were to happen... we would be close enough to ask for help.' An orange cat sprung from the cage and stretched across the seat before clambering back onto Hermione's lap.

'What could happen?' asked Harry.

Cassy understood exactly and was unsure as if she wanted to praise Hermione for her thoughtfulness, or curse her for drawing attention to it. Hermione's brown-eyes said everything as she turned to her, face filled with pity and concern. She slowly sat next to Cassy, leaning forward and angling herself closer to her as if waiting for some revelation she was never going to receive.

Harry and Neville sat opposite and Harry stared curiously through the window. Although he too seemed to want to ask about her well-being, he dared not when she had reprimanded him for it the last three times they had spoke through the two-way mirrors. He was torn between believing her, as she had a steeled resistance to opinions concerning her, or believing it was a lie, because it was not a well kept secret that Cassy did not like to be open about her feelings. With a glance and nod at Neville, they mutually agreed to allow Hermione to handle this one.

'Are you sure you're all right?' probed Hermione gently.

'I am still fine, thank-you,' said Cassy. 'What I want to know however, is how you knew there was a teacher in the opposite compartment.'

Hermione looked less than convinced and gave a pointed expression that clearly said the conversation was not finished, but she surrendered to the change in topic. 'He's far too old to be a student and the only reason an adult would be on the train is if he was going to teach. His name is R. J. Lupin. I've never heard of him before.'

'Defence, then?' suggested Harry.

Hermione nodded and the four turned as their compartment door was pushed open and the panting face of Ginny Weasley popped into view. She greeted them breathlessly and dropped down onto the seat with Cassy and Hermione as they shuffled up.

'Is that your Cat, Hermione? He's lovely,' she said cheerfully. She leant over to stroke him and he stood up, clawing happily at Hermione's legs. Cassy nudged him away as he rubbed on her arm.

'This is Crookshanks – Cassy, don't push him - the man in the store said no one wanted him, but I can't imagine why.' Cassy supposed it might be because of his straggly appearance and flat face that made him look permanently unhappy, but she blinked pleasantly as Hermione glanced around.

'Good summers?' Ginny asked everyone. She pulled her trunk into the compartment from where she sat, lying it down and tucking it under the seat as there was no room in the overhead rails.

'My holiday was good. I went to France with my parents,' Hermione said; her skin was several shades darker than normal. 'It was very warm – for goodness sake, Cassy, don't pull him around!'

'I am not,' defended Cassy blandly as she picked up and moved Crookshanks to Hermione's other side. 'He keeps trying to sit on me and I am not too partial to cats, at least, not when they try and sit on me, otherwise they are fine.'

Hermione sniffed, but Neville asked, 'What animals do you like then?'

'I never said I did not like them, I like nearly all animals, I just don't like them clawing. I have always wanted a dog, though, but my uncle would never let me have one.' Cassy frowned slightly at the sight of Crookshank's angry yellow eyes.

Sighing, Hermione patted him on the head. She spoke for a few minutes about a French Wizarding town she had visited and how different it was to Diagon Alley, perhaps closer to Hogsmead, which caused everyone to brighten at its mention, but Ginny.

'There are so many places to visit. I want to go to Honeydukes first,' squealed Neville.

Ginny snorted. 'So does Ron, that's all he's been saying all summer.' She sunk down in her seat, pouting as Hermione saw fit to pat her on the head in a dismissive reassurance.

'Don't worry, Ginny, we'll bring you loads of things back with us,' said Harry grinning. He did not seem to notice as Ginny turned red and pulled the collar of her jumper up above her nose. Nor did he, nor any of them, realise that as they spoke the train had already departed until Neville looked out onto the rolling countryside.

'So, you managed to get permission then? I was worried your relatives wouldn't let you go,' said Neville.

'Well, I thought about it and figured I'd bargain with them. My uncle told me he'd sign it if I was good when my aunt Marge stayed – look how that went though – but I may have mixed Cassy's and Hermione's advice together accidentally to get what I wanted.' He laughed and ruffled his hair. 'I was both firm and honest as advised and_ may_ have said that I was worried he wouldn't keep to his end of the bargain. I might just blurt something out about my "_problems_" to Marge and that I might not be able to go to Hogsmead this year, but she'll always know what I am, so his only choice was to sign it then.'

'_Harry_!' shrieked Hermione. 'You blackmailed them? I told you to be honest and explain how important it is to you, not how important it is because otherwise you might reveal yourself!'

'Honestly, it sounds like something I would expect myself to say,' Cassy said with amusement, ignoring Hermione's scandalised look.

'I didn't mean to, honestly, Hermione. I just sort of said it. And on the train back you all kind of wound me up about what would happen if they didn't let me go and I guess I just panicked a bit. Besides, it's all good, really. Imagine if I hadn't said it. I'd be stuck the castle while you all get to go out and enjoy yourselves,' said Harry with a shrug.

Hermione settled eventually, although she still appeared less than pleased about it, but as the story-telling moved onto Neville's summer, she loosened up again and then only sighed irritably when the story of Harry inflating his aunt sent loud laughter through the compartment. She managed a poorly concealed smile as she tried to reprimand them once more.

'Cassy?' said Ginny. 'Anything to add?'

Cassy shook her head, her summer was awfully dull and she had only worked on various studies or attended a ball she would rather forget for the time being. Deciding nobody needed to know the finer details of the Ministry invasion of her home, she let the group fall awkwardly silent.

'So, you haven't heard anything else about him?' questioned Ginny. She shifted as Cassy looked up, but held her gaze, voice remaining even despite the tension that was filling her shoulders with each passing second. 'Sirius Black, I mean.'

'No,' said Cassy. 'I would probably be the last to hear anything about him and that is fine. I have no interest in following his escape.'

'Wouldn't you at least want to know if he's been spotted?' asked Hermione. She pursed her lips as Cassy shook her head, face angled towards the window so she could not see her expression. Only Harry could and he said nothing.

'My father is a murderer and a liar who joined Voldemort despite ostracising himself from his family in his youth because of their ways. He is a hypocrite and the sooner he disappears from sight and mind the better. I want nothing to do with him,' she spat bitterly.

Alphard has never really told her much about Sirius when Cassy was growing up, merely just that he was no longer available. It was not until she was seven – nearing eight-years-old – that he finally told her that her father was in Azkaban, although the details of it were kept quiet for several more years. She did not know what to think. She was informed he would never be released, that he would die there and they would never meet. Slowly, but surely, dissolution befell her and by the time she was old enough to know the details of his crime and his allegiance, as well as his position within the family in the past, she was already far too disenchanted with the idea of him that it did not matter.

His actions up until that point were everything I dreamed mine could have been as a child, she thought. Even in her mind her voice was irritable, reflecting the slow building anger she had felt all summer since he had escaped. It must have shown through her posture, for everyone was deathly silent.

Staring intently out of the window, Cassy ignored her friends as they slowly began to stir up a conversation again. The rolling hills brought stormy skies and soon enough heavy rain tattled the windows, freezing Cassy's forehead which rested against the glass. The darkness made it difficult to see and staring into utter blackness was not an enjoyable experience anymore than dwelling within her own mind, so she forcefully turned back to her friends, watching as they fussed over a matt in Crookshanks' fur that Hermione could not quite get out.

A hand suddenly appeared in her vision and following it back up, Cassy met Neville's uneasy face. His smile was not whole, it was an easy guise that had never fooled her and Cassy could only cast one in return as she accepted the offered chocolate frog. While no words were exchanged, the mood of the compartment lifted once more and the volume picked up as it was unanimously decided that it was fine to speak freely again.

Cassy wanted to apologise, but could not find the words. She always seemed to be able to silence them with her poor moods, when that is never really the intention at all and simply saying it sounded ridiculous, even in her own mind. So, she said nothing, instead opting to silently open the little box and snapped off the frog's head, letting its legs dangle limply in the air.

Lights flickered on above them and all down the corridors, dimly lighting their surroundings as the windows finally no longer shed any light at all. A familiar screeching met their ears and soon the luggage was been thrown forward and Ginny's trunk connected with their calves violently as the train grounded to a sudden halt. It was followed by muffled rattling as many doors in the corridor were opened and voices began to fill it.

'Why are we stopping?' said Hermione in confusion. 'We can't be there yet, we should have another hour. We can't have broken down.' The last part was voiced more as a question, but everyone knew it had to be true. The train ran on magic and magic did not suddenly falter like this, unless someone forced it to. With no ideas, Ginny stood and poked her head out of the door, calling to someone down the corridor and frowning at their reply.

'Ron,' she bellowed, 'any ideas what's going on?'

Although still loud for its distance, the group strained to hear Ron's uncertain reply. 'We thought we were there, but we can't be yet. Maybe something's happened to the Conductor.'

As soon as the door was pulled shut again, the lights extinguished and they were plunged into complete darkness. Moving quickly, Cassy lit her wand and was mirrored by Neville, illuminating the daunted faces of the compartment.

Hermione fidgeted. 'Maybe someone should go and speak to the Conductor-'

'No,' said Harry quietly. He pulled Cassy's right arm up more and held it closer to him, lighting him brightly and glaring off the window pane. 'There is something outside, I think. The train might have been stopped from an outside source.'

'Why?' said Neville, biting his lip. He held his own wand closer to the door, but there was nothing to be seen.

'Well, obviously if someone were to come on board they probably work for the Ministry,' said Hermione, although she faltered as soon as she felt everyone's eyes upon her and she pulled on Chrookshanks' fur lightly. 'If they do work for the Ministry they would probably be searching the train for Sirius Black. Why else would they stop it in the middle of nowhere? Why not at Hogsmead station or at Platform nine and three-quarters?'

Wonderful, thought Cassy. She leant forward, sharing the light with Harry and squinting into the darkness, unable to distinguish real movement from the shimmers the little light created. Her eyes were trained solely on the glass, purposefully trying to block out the curious sounds of other compartments opening and the ever growing coldness that pricked at her skin. A sense of complete apprehension filled her as their door slid open and with her free fingers flexing, she turned to look – but wished she had not.

The sight that greeted her was not one that she expected, for instead of a neatly dressed Official, it was a tall, ghostly figure, their back hunched as its head threatened to connect with the ceiling and the tail of its robes flaring with an ethereal wind. Long, dun-coloured fingers wrapped themselves around the edge of the door and pushed forward from them, leaning heavily into the compartment, bringing with it an unmistakable chill that rattled the students' bones.

'D-Dementor,' breathed Neville, leaning back into his seat as it turned to survey him. Suddenly, its head snapped back towards the window and lit with the light of her wand, Cassy could see its face, sunken and blind. Only scabbed skin filled the sockets and her breath caught at the sight of it, shuddering when its mouth opened wide, too wide, and breathed.

The coldness became bitter, filling her limbs with a severe ache, before numbing her fingers and up to her chest, where a searing sensation suddenly flared, forcing her to drop forward and breathe harshly. Blood rushed to her ears, accompanied by a loud ringing, but she forced her head upwards to look across from her, blurredly catching sight of Harry's jerking form as he slipped from his seat, landing beside her unlit wand.

The ringing got louder and then suddenly stopped. A new sound burst into her head.

'No, no! Not my little Cassiopeia, you can't take her, you monsters! Monsters! I know what you can do, I've seen it, you can't take her from me. Cassiopeia!'

Cassy felt her mind swirl and her head loll to one side, then, as her mind began to focus, there was a curious warmth in her cheeks. Forcing her eyes open, she was met with the sight of Hermione's nervous gaze.

'Cassy's come back around,' she announced, glancing down at someone beside her, but Cassy was too dazed to see exactly who it was.

'Harry's not reacting at all,' said the other unevenly.

Hermione looked quickly back over to Cassy before twisting her head behind her and darting down to crouch on the floor. Behind Hermione had been Ginny – pale and shaking – who quickly scooted along the seat to rest a hand on Cassy's shoulder, keeping her upright.

'How do you feel?' she asked.

Cassy raised a hand slowly to her forehead, feeling the iciness of her own skin. 'Ill,' she said shortly, wiping away some of the cold sweat that built. With a deep breath, she propped herself up properly, only then taking in the sight of a worn, scraggly looking man who was crouching on the floor beside an equally sickly looking Harry.

'Why isn't he waking up, Professor Lupin?' asked Hermione as she hovered behind him.

Assuming the man was to be the new Defence Professor, Cassy was doubtful the year was going to go well at all. With battered robes and a swallow, thin face, the man appeared as if a good gust of wind might blow him off his feat and finish the poor man. She did not hold much hope for him being better than their previous two Professors, but that was not Cassy's priority now. She needed to attend to Harry, who was quietly groaning.

'He'll be fine, he was just a bit more effected than Miss Black,' he said plainly.

Finally, Harry's head fell to one side and his eyes fluttered open. He scrunched them closed before opening them wide and reaching to push his glasses back up his nose. He looked awful, his skin too pale and his eyes hauntingly bright; Cassy wondered if she held a similar appearance as she rubbed her hands together to return feeling to them.

He struggled to sit up and Neville wrapped an arm around his back, supporting him as Professor Lupin stood and Hermione quickly took his place on the floor.

'Who are you?' asked Harry, eyeing the Professor warily.

'Remus Lupin,' the man introduced. 'I'm going to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts this year. Although, I must say I'm surprised that's your first question, I expected it to be concerning what just happened.'

'That was my next one,' said Harry and he hauled himself onto the seat he had previously occupied. 'What were those... things?'

'Dementors,' said Professor Lupin shortly. 'They guard Azkaban.'

'Well, where's it gone and who was screaming – ?' began Harry, but he cut himself off when he noticed Neville's mortified face.

'No one screamed, Harry. It went silent and very cold and then you and Cassy...' said Neville, staring uneasily around at everyone, while ringing his hands.

At the mention of Cassy, Harry turned to her, fixing her with a gaze that made it appeared as if he had only just realised she was there. He probably had, because he stared for a few seconds before blinking. 'You look as bad as I feel,' he said, wiping the sweat from his face, just as Cassy had done.

'Charming, although I believe you appear worse than I,' she said with a wonky smile.

He gave one in return, but the pair felt too shaky to continue the joke. Their smiles dropped quickly and Harry's expression turned back into a frown quickly. He opened his mouth, but was cut off as Professor Lupin stuck his hand under his nose.

'Here,' he announced, then passing a piece to Cassy, 'chocolate will help, trust me.'

Each one of them got a piece - Cassy and Harry's being unusually large in comparison – but the two did not eat it, the mere sight of it churning their queasy stomachs.

'I need to have a word with those further up the train and check on the students, but if you need anything, anything at all, I'll be around, all right?' Professor Lupin did not wait for a reply, opting instead to retreat quickly and allowing Harry to stand unsteadily and slide the door closed once more.

'What do you mean it was silent?' he said, straight to the point. 'I heard screaming, it was close by... I understand. So none of you...' He pointed to the floor awkwardly.

They all shook their heads and Neville looked to Cassy. 'Cassy didn't react very well. I mean, you were unconscious too. You both looked like you were having seizures suddenly and you rasped as if you were drowning...'

Harry turned to Cassy again, but her forehead was resting on the window and her eyes focused on the barely visible rolling countryside. He looked over her appearance, she could feel it and she knew he wanted her to say something, to agree with him and she knew she had to, even if she did not wish to speak of it.

'So, the scream, you didn't hear it-' he asked her.

'No one screamed, Harry,' Hermione began gently.

'Yes, they did,' cut in Cassy softly. All eyes switched to her and she slowly moved her gaze from the window to Harry. 'They screamed in your mind, because Dementors make one relieve their most buried, most emotional memories. The ones that can break a person's will and their mind. The screaming you heard was from a memory.'

The compartment was silent for many seconds and although Harry initially frowned at the information, he then lowered his gaze in deep thought.

'D-did you hear something then?' broached Ginny quietly.

Cassy nodded, not saying anything more about it. It would be too hard to explain and she did not think she could right now, not with everyone looking at her as if she were on her death bed. Even Harry stared for a moment too long, curious eyes glinting behind his glasses.

Hermione cleared her throat to disrupt another silence that befell them. 'Professor Lupin did something, a spell, that made them retreat very quickly. A silvery mist appeared from the side and the Dementor shot off down the corridor. It was very impressive, really.'

'The Patronus Charm,' said Ginny, brightening slightly. 'My dad says it's the only spell that is any use against them.'

Hermione appeared intrigued and Cassy tuned out her voice as she began a rapid fire discussion with Ginny all about it. Cassy was tired and even spared a thought to whether she would be able to miss the feast and go to bed early, but she knew she would be marched straight off to the Hospital Wing and the last thing she wanted at that moment was Madam Pomfrey poking her and insisting she ingest cabbage flavoured energisers. However, she hardly wanted to go to the feast either and listen to everyone's questions and stories of the Dementors. As she looked across as Harry, she knew he was thinking a similar thing.

He raised his eyebrows and his lips moved in an awkward twitch that never made it into a smile. Knowing she could do no better, Cassy lowered her eyes and inspected the chocolate she still held in her hands.

* * *

What perhaps was more awful than listening to the gossiping whispers of their classmates, was the intrigued stares of the entire Hall as Cassy, Harry and Hermione slipped in late after everyone was seated and sorted.

Cassy was not sure what to make of Professor Lupin, because while he had saved her and Harry, they two friends were bound in a mutual annoyance that the teacher had sent word to their Head of House about the incident and they were thoroughly inspected by the Matron as soon as they stepped through the doors. By the time the carriages had pulled up to the gates, they had both regained their strength, although not necessarily their cheerfulness, and despite their best efforts, it was decided they had to be checked upon anyway.

Through her whirling mind and many thoughts, Cassy still made room to log Hermione's unusual chat with Professor McGonagall before the feast as well. Hermione shrugged it off, saying it was merely about lessons and Cassy gave her a look that clearly said she was going to pester her later and Hermione gave her own back, one that stated the conversation was over and the consequences should she try and continue it would be dire. At least, that is how she interpreted it, because to Harry, the expressions looked very similar, only Cassy's eyebrows were a little lower in amusement, although still raised.

They crept in along the back wall, although still very much noticed, and took their seats with Neville and Ginny at the Gryffindor table. The Headmaster then began his speech, addressing the immediate issue of the Dementors.

Although Cassy already knew they would be guarding the school, Professor Dumbledore's sombre speech made their presence even less welcoming, especially as he addressed the use of tricks and trinkets, singling out Invisibility Cloaks, discreetly messaging Harry and setting off alarm bells in the heads of Cassy, Harry and Neville. The lack of reaction from Hermione and Ginny reminded them all that the pair did not know and it was a wonder that the cloak had never arisen in any of their conversations.

Finally, he addressed the new staff, Professor Lupin, who received a piteous applause – which was likely due to his appearance – and then a shocking announcement reached their ears.

'In light of recent injuries, dear Professor Kettleburn has decided to retire, leaving the Care for Magical Creature position open. It is then with my great pleasure, I appoint the post to Rubeus Hagrid, who now doubles as a teacher and gamekeeper.'

The applause was at least three times that of Professor Lupin's, with the Gryffindor's clapping particularly hard and even the thunderous claps of Fred and George were no match for Cassy, Harry, Neville, Hermione and Ginny, who clapped loudly and highly, making sure Hagrid could see them clearly as they did so.

When the applause faded, the food appeared and the hall burst into a different sort of life as a mad dash for dinner began.

Cassy sipped pumpkin juice from her goblet, picking at her food and swirling it on her plate to make it seem as if she had eaten more. Her appetite was waning – never really having been present that day anyway. She dug a circle in the mash potato with her fork before scraping it back over once filled with peas.

'What's wrong?' asked Harry suddenly. His voice was quiet and next to her ear, startling her into dropping the fork into her dinner.

She turned with wide eyes. 'Excuse me?' she asked.

'You're not bouncing back as well as usual today,' he said. 'You're not usually this forlorn and when you are it's because something is bothering you.'

No one else near them had noticed the pair stop eating and for that they were both glad. The hall was loud with talking and laughing, even the occasional bang as the twins set off fire-crackers further up the table.

Deeming it safe, Cassy spoke, 'I have just had an awful summer and the year is not shaping up to be very good either. My murderous father has escaped, suddenly I have all the wrong sort of attention pinned to me, Alphard is being secretive and I have been a little stir crazy from being in my house all summer, and to top it all off, I am now under the watchful eye of a boy that even the Slytherin's are wary of. I guess my mood might be suffering a little bit because of it all.' The last sentence came out weaker than the rest of it and Cassy rubbed at the bridge of her nose irritably.

'It'll be fine, you know it will, and besides, whatever Shandy tries you know you'll have us right there with you anyway. We're all involved and if he is as bad as his reputation makes him out to be... we'll just have to step up our usual game and get him back,' said Harry, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. He smiled at her and she offered half of one back.

'Oy, I hate to interrupt you two having a moment, but can you pass the gravy,' called Ron.

Cassy frowned instantly. 'I do not have "moments", with anyone, Ronald.'

'Don't call me Ronald!' he protested. 'I said to call me Ron.'

'I hate to interrupt your lovers quarrel, but gravy?' Harry held out the boat, almost dropping it as he burst into laughter at the pairs cringing faces.

Ginny snorted into her drink, Neville laughed into his hands while Hermione looked quite pleased with the idea, as if she had filed the comment away for later use, her eyes flaring joyfully as soon as Cassy's mortified face turned towards her.

'Harry, what – no!' gagged Ron, looking to Dean and Finnigan for support, but they too were laughing.

Cassy scowled at Hermione, who flashed her eyebrows. 'Don't you dare,' she said.

'Don't I dare what? I have no idea what your talking about,' said Hermione cheerfully back.

Sighing deeply, Cassy cast a withered look to the grinning Harry. She allowed herself to smile and to finally feel a little bit of the warmth she had longed to feel and as she shook her head, wincing again as Ginny added her own joke, Cassy thought that her friends might just make this year bearable. As long as she had them to depend on, it did not seem so bad and she had realised it truly for the first time in her thirteen years.

* * *

**Well, what do you think?**

**I hope people will look forward to the full explanation of the voice Cassy hears. I expect it will be a little more complicated than it appears right now.**

**Anyway, not much to say about this chapter. Although I want to say a massive thank-you to everyone who has followed and reviewed so far. I never thought I'd realistically get the the third year, but here I am and I know exactly where I'm going with it now, after a little planning blip. I look forward to hearing what you all think.**

**Thanks! **


	4. Muggles and mayhem

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter IV: Muggles and mayhem**

It seemed that in the delight of the delayed feast, many people had forgotten the looming danger that was Sirius Black. However, by the next morning, their refreshed minds honed in on the only person to share his name; Cassy was once again the centre of attention, which she was quick to roll out the rules on. With a loud announcement over breakfast that she could clearly see them staring and no, she could not tell them anything the media did not because she did not know anything they did not, the stares began to subside and people looked awkwardly down at their breakfast.

Placing her spoon down in her bowl of porridge, Cassy peered over at Hermione's timetable as she was consumed in her conversation with Neville about the new Herbology scheme this year. Cassy frowned and looked back at her own timetable.

'Your timetable is interesting,' she said, catching her friends' attention. 'You are taking everything, but how will you manage it all?'

Hermione folded her schedule up quickly and stuffed it into her pocket. 'I've sorted everything out with Professor McGonagall, it will be fine.'

Cassy looked doubtfully at her for a moment, before looking back at her breakfast. If Hermione understood it, then Cassy would let her manage it herself – although she would not strictly let her interest die with that alone. Her eyes slid back to her friend as Hermione snapped at Ron, who had taken the paper from her pocket again to inspect it himself. Like Cassy, he frowned as he took it in.

Ignoring the squabble that was sure to break out, Cassy sifted through her belongings, checking she had the correct books, before pulling the silver chain out from underneath her shirt and flipping the face of the pendant open. 'We should probably leave now, or at least you two should, Divination is far away from here, isn't it?' she said, looking between Harry and Neville.

They both stopped eating and began to hoist themselves up from their seats, brining with them the entire third-year collection of Gryffindors. Cassy was the only one, besides Hermione, who elected not to take Divination, sceptical of its usefulness and on the assumption she did not have the favoured "inner-eye" required, was not willing to waste three years fabricating deaths and misfortune. Even Hermione, who prized herself in being far more logical than Cassy – who did not deny this, often content in enjoying things for the sake of them – possessed an interest in the subject, although Cassy doubted it would last. The pair had even made a bet on how long.

Cassy and Hermione moved away from the group, when their was a sudden call of, 'Hermione?'

Hermione turned and waved her hand quickly, 'I'll catch up later, don't worry.'

Harry nodded slowly, he and Neville moved away and joined their classmates, up another flight of stairs and out of sight. As soon as they had, Cassy turned to Hermione with raised eyebrows. 'Catch up?' she repeated. 'Why would you need to catch up with him?'

Hermione waved dismissively again, 'It's nothing to worry about.' She turned her head the other way, not missing Cassy's eyebrows dip sceptically. The secrecy told her it was something to wonder about, if not to be concerned with, especially the tart tone in which Hermione shook away the question, but Cassy asked no further.

The two walked along the first floor corridor, turning into a wider main hall with a little line of people gathered against one of the walls. It consisted of students from every house - bar Slytherin, who usually held little interest in the subject – talking lightly and looking to see who else would be joining the dozen or so that waited. When eyes turned to the pair, several sets of eyebrows rose, staring intently at Cassy as if in utter surprise.

There were more footsteps and the class turned to look, but many quickly looked away. It was a gaggle of Slytherins, older and taller, pushing each other slightly as they laughed at something the blond in the centre had said. They slowed suddenly, faces twisted into smirks and cold judgement, taking in the appearance of the others. One lagged back and Cassy spared the briefest of glances at him, already knowing who it was.

He came up beside her, leaning in close to her ear and muttered, 'Oh my, Black, we really are breaking all the rules, aren't we?'

'In for a Knut, in for a Galleon, as they say,' replied Cassy, equally quiet. Her eyes remained focused on the wall opposite, but out the corner of her eye she could see Hermione's flicking between her and Shandy.

'I pictured you as more of an Arithmacy girl, to be honest.'

'A subject that hold no power is useless to me. It is all theory and I do not have need for, however, at least Muggle Studies holds significance to society and has a purpose,' she said blandly.

He tilted his head to one side, 'Assuming something has no value because you cannot use it is ignorant.'

'Assuming a race is weak through ignorance is foolish, much more so than I am ever willing to be. They may not have magic, but they are not sub-human. Sometimes they are very clever. Besides, you should know that a persons interests can stem from the strangest of things.' Although Cassy had never put much thought into why she was taking Muggle Studies - beyond that she had to Muggle-Born friends and it would irritate Narcissa's mother even more and Cassy was ashamed to say she was rather enjoying the woman keeping her distance in disgust - the words flowed out of her mouth easily, something that three years prior she would not have been able to articulate.

Shandy did not look so sure as he raised his eyebrows. He peered at her curiously for a moment, before turning on his heel and jogging away at a call of "Hey, Benjamin, c'mon. Leave the dirty Mudbloods and Muggle-Lovers, they're not worth it!'

Everyone turned at the call, their noses upturned and hissing under their breaths. However, it was only Hermione that turned to Cassy, a knowing look on her face. 'Shandy, I presume?'

Cassy nodded and the line began to filtered into the classroom. Hermione forced her to take a seat next to her at the front of the class right in front of the teacher's desk, so Hermione was in a clear visibility range for answering questions. Most likely all the questions, Cassy's mind supplied unhelpfully, because Hermione was, indeed, Muggle-Born and thus knew practically everything they would surely learn this year.

A blonde-haired woman stepped in front of the class, smiling widely with a kind glint in her eyes. 'I am Professor Charity Burbage, as you may know, and I am taking the position of Muggle Studies teacher after Professor Carroll retired at the end of the last school year.' She paused so she could survey them all, her smile brightening as she beamed back at Hermione, who was set and ready to begin at the drop of a hat.

Cassy, feeling slightly ridiculous taking such a class, evaded the woman's eyes as they passed over her and felt them linger, but with what kind of a thought she did not know; she refused to look up.

Professor Burbage swiftly moved the lesson on, pointing to each and every still painting and photograph on the wall, the people's faces frozen in one position – often unflatteringly so, Cassy noted – and then onto various tools and trinkets she had gathered from the Muggle shops to demonstrate with. The downside to much of what she showed was that Hogwart's castle would not allow Muggle technology to work within its walls, due to the powerful magic surrounding it.

As Professor Burbage pursed her lips, she flicked a little switch on the cord of a lamp to show how easily it turned off in comparison to another, before her eyes lit up brightly. 'Seeing as much of this will mean little to you unless you see it in action, when we begin the topic of electricity I will see if we can visit one of the nearby Muggle towns. Yes, you'll understand it much better if I can show you. I will have to ask about it though, so is anyone up to it? I would need you all to be on board and it would mean missing some of your other lessons...'

There were many heads nodding enthusiastically around the room. Hermione looked horrified. While it was expected that she would be ecstatic at a chance to show off her knowledge further, she was simply mumbling to herself, her then hanging open. 'I can't afford to miss too many lessons, I'll never catch up. Oh, it depends on what day, but I don't want to ruin it for everyone-' She looked to Cassy, catching her staring in bemusement.

'Hermione, it will only be for two or four lessons. You already read so far ahead I cannot imagine that it would make much difference,' assured Cassy quietly as Professor Burbage began to wheel a plastic duck toy along the floor. Why it had wheels Cassy could not fathom, but her eyes slid towards it for a moment as it emitted a loud quack.

'Oh, you don't understand,' muttered Hermione, before turning her attention back to the class.

Cassy mentally agreed she did not and settled back to listening to the short introductions of the topics they would study that year: An overview of Muggle life, tools, electricity and energy sources, and transport. It seemed to Cassy that the most interesting topics would not be until the following years, such as their governmental system – although she noted many noses scrunch at the mention of this topic for their fifth year. However, she inspected the filament in the light-bulb that was being passed around with mild curiosity and listened to Hermione's basic explanation of how it worked, before moving on to a plug, to which Hermione pointed out what each prong was for.

By the end of the session, when all the objects had been passed back to the front, Professor Burbage could not have been more pleased with her, already labelling her the "Star pupil", a name which Hermione took a little less than graciously and beamed brightly.

'Right, class, I want you all to read chapter one and to have made notes on it by next weeks lesson,' said the Professor cheerfully. 'This was merely an introductory lesson, so be prepared to work hard next time! Okay, dismissed.'

Everyone began packing up their belongings and the room was filled with the sound of stools scraping along the floor and loud, chirping voices that had barely stopped all lesson. It was the first class Cassy had ever seen so many people excited to be in and a teacher so pleased by so many questions.

'This class might be mildly interesting, although, I am not feeling the instant enthusiasm everyone else seems to be,' said Cassy, tucking the stool under the desk and collecting her bag from the table top.

Apparently, Hermione was not feeling too enthusiastic either, for when Cassy turned to her she was gone. She was nowhere in sight and all her belongings had been packed in record time and not a single word was spared before she disappeared.

Cassy frowned deeply. Not only had she not noticed Hermione leave, she had been speaking to herself in a room full of people. She strode out quickly, ignoring the chatter and loud good-byes of the teacher and set off immediately for Transfiguration, eager to see Harry and Neville's reactions to their first taste of Divination. She could see the Gryffindors clearly as she rounded the corner, although they lacked their usual lustre.

Instead of a huddled, laughing group, they were filed against the wall, faces down and their feet shuffling as they waited. Brown and Patil looked torn between shock and amazement, while everyone else had a grave expression that fitted well with Harry's one of complete resignation. Next to him was Hermione, who fidgeted as if there was something she wished to say, but held it in and Cassy knew she would deal with her later.

Moving quickly, Cassy appeared in front of her friends, eyebrows already raised in a silent question that Harry avoided by staring blankly at a space above her head. It was moments like that when she missed their first year, for their almost equal height meant he found it more difficult to ignore her; however, now having over half-a-head more in height, he simply stared over her. There was something in his eyes that told her he had not really registered her presence – a clouded, distant look had taken over, a familiar vacancy that Harry developed when he was thinking too hard.

Cassy looked to Neville, who smiled at her through the grimness. She never got to ask though, because he looked to Harry and waved his hand as her mouth opened, as if telling her to ask him, but warning her against disrupting him now. Cassy frowned.

Soon, the door opened and everyone filed in slowly, a dead pace that not only alerted Professor McGonagall something was wrong, but also peaked Cassy's interest.

'You all look like the living dead and I believe that was the first time my transformation has never received an applause,' said Professor McGonagall as she rose from the ground. No one really responded, giving the odd sigh as they shuffled to their seats. She frowned. 'Who wishes to tell me what has happened?'

There was a pause and then, slowly, Hermione raised her hand. 'In Divination, our first lesson of it... Professor Trelawney made a prediction-'

'Ah,' said Professor McGonagall airily. 'So, which one of you is to die this year?' She looked between them and all eyes moved to fall on Harry.

'I am,' he admitted and the teacher nodded fiercely.

'Yes, no surprise there. Do not take any notice of those prophesies and such, she predicts them every year and I have yet to have a student die. Of course, given Mr. Potter's record, especially with all the trouble he gets up to during the year, it really is no surprise you have been nominated for death now.'

Professor McGonagall turned to the little black board, chalk in hand and whirling white lines appearing across the surface occupied just enough of her attention to allow Cassy to lean over to Harry, whom she sat next to. 'So, you told Hermione about your inevitable death and not me?' she joked, a small half-smile on her face.

Harry turned to her, eyebrows raised and whispered, 'What do you mean? Of course Hermione knew, everyone heard.'

Cassy frowned, not understanding. It had to be some form of public announcement for Hermione to hear, otherwise it made no sense. Even that was a push, for Cassy saw no reason for Hermione to be near the secluded room, or Professor Trelawney to venture that far from it. She said nothing, for Professor McGonagall turned to address them again, but the frown did not leave for some time after.

The lesson dragged on, long and tediously simple that Cassy had lost her thoughts to a mind numbing repeat of the spell. A rat, then a scarf, then a rat again, until Professor McGonagall eventually called a halt to the lesson and everyone scrambled to pack themselves away and hurry down to lunch. It was then, managing to keep pace with the hurried one Hermione had set, Cassy slung her bag over her shoulder and cornered the other just in time so she could not engage in a deep conversation with Harry.

'Hermione,' interjected Cassy as the other tucked in her stool, 'you disappeared very-'

'I forgot a book, no worries,' assured Hermione quickly, waving her hand idly. 'Speaking of which, I need to speak to Professor McGonagall for a minute, so go on without me.'

'We can wait,' offered Neville.

'No, no, go and have lunch I won't be long,' she said.

'If you're not going to be long, then we can wait,' stated Harry, smiling. His smile soon turned to a grin as Hermione huffed and ushered them all out of the door. Her hands were then placed on her hips as she sighed in exasperation.

'Really, I said it's fine – it's _fine_, don't argue with me. I'll catch up, I won't be more than five minutes,' she said and with that she shut the door, officially blocking them out.

'I don't suppose she'll be too impressed if we still wait around,' said Neville, eyeing the far end of the corridor that led to the staircases.

Harry shrugged. 'She'll probably whack us all with that giant tome she's carrying. What lesson would that even be for?'

The three began to walk down to the Great Hall, passing several students who shot Cassy enquiring looks, but kept there mouths shut. She ignored them and instead kept a close eye on Trevor, Neville's pet toad, as he handled it, waiting for the inevitable moment that he dropped and consequently lost him.

'I wonder what Hermione wanted to ask though. It's not like it can be about work. That was our first lesson,' said Neville.

'Feeling nosy?' asked Cassy playfully, glancing up at his face for a second.

Neville flushed and shrugged. 'Not really, I'm just curious.'

'There is a fine line between curiosity and nosiness. Ask Cassy, she crosses it all the time,' said Harry wistfully. He tried his hardest to suppress a grin when Cassy turned to gape, but failed upon seeing such an emotion on her usually controlled face. 'Kidding, kidding,' he assured as she smacked him lightly on the arm.

Cassy sighed deeply in mock annoyance while Harry jumped the last few stairs, landing noisily on the stone flooring of the entrance hall.

'Really though, Hermione seems quite eager to be alone at the moment,' said Cassy. 'Or perhaps it is just to be away from me.'

'What do you mean? And don't be stupid, why would she want to be away from you?' asked Harry.

'She disappeared suddenly at the end of Muggle Studies and then she was very secretive about her meeting. It just seems a little odd,' she said simply. It was not the first time Hermione had locked herself away and insisted on being by herself at the strangest of times – usually to study – so Cassy was not overly concerned. It was more her secrecy that had her interested and once Cassy was inclined to believe something might be happening, her thoughts never left her alone until she solved it.

Perhaps Harry is right, maybe I am nosy; she thought amused. Then again, Harry proved to be just as bad and sometimes twice as reckless. Before Cassy could voice this, she was met with Harry's perplexed expression.

'She was in Divination this morning,' he said.

'Excuse me?' said Cassy, blinking.

Harry stared back, not understanding where her confusion came from. He said nothing and the pair stood awkwardly still for a time before both turning to Neville, who had his eyebrows raised and one shoulder unconsciously raised. Even he did not know what to add and finally Cassy decided to be blunt.

'Hermione was in Muggle Studies for the first lesson. She could could not have been in Divination.'

'What? She was though, right, Neville?' said Harry and the other boy nodded quickly.

'She sat at the table with us and complained for a bit about the subject,' said Neville, troubled.

Half of Cassy was pleased to know she was quickly winning the bet, while the other half bubbled in irritation. It was not possible to be in two places at once and Hermione had sat next to her all lesson, their was simply no way it could have been anyone else. She may have left two or three minutes prior to Cassy herself, but to assume she could make it to a lesson in that time was absurd and Cassy wanted answers.

It appeared as if the other's did as well, because the questions and unconnected replies did not stop and it was another five or so minutes before Hermione herself came downstairs that they could even think to ask. However, it was not a simple matter of just asking, for it sounded idiotic to assume she was in more than once place at one time, but unless Harry and Neville were playing a very insistent joke, Cassy had to assume she could be, and likewise for the boys. In the end, it was Harry who bit the bullet and asked.

'So, apparently you had Muggle Studies this morning,' he said in a conversational tone.

Hermione's eyes darted between the three wildly, her large front teeth biting her lip.

There was nowhere for her to go, except to leave the hall, knowing that it would lead to even more attention from her friends that would only lead them to conduct their own investigation as they always did. Looking past the bright hair of the Weasley boys, she could clearly see Professor McGonagall sitting in her bottle-green robes, calm and collected and not looking in her direction in the slightest. It was easy for Cassy, Harry and Neville to notice this and they too turned to their head of house.

'What exactly was your meeting with Professor McGonagall about today, Hermione?' asked Cassy airily, dabbing a slice of toast into the bean sauce on her plate.

Hermione looked back around at them for a second before standing. 'I-I'll speak about this later, okay? I have something to... sort out,' she said and then hurried up to the staff table, where Professor McGonagall greeted her with shock.

By the end of lunch, Hermione had rejoined them. Her instructions were clear and precise, demanding that they ask nothing of it for the next few hours and afterwards it would all be explained. There not a false confidence in her words, barely masking the nervousness and disappointment in her voice.

Professor McGonagall had shot them each a stern look as they rose to exit the hall for their next lesson, Care of Magical creatures. Out of all the new subjects the four were to experience this year, Care of Magical creatures was undoubtedly the most exciting, if just for the fact Hagrid would be teaching it. It was to be his first lesson as well and from where they stood atop the steep hill they could see him fluttering with excitement and nerve.

The grass was still damp from the heavy rain the previous day and made for a precarious decent towards Hagrid's hut. That did not stop them craning at the familiar voices of the Slytherin third-years as they bustled through the double doors and made for the same direction. Of all houses to share the class with, Slytherin would undoubtedly be the worst, but Cassy felt at least a little relieved. It was not so much that she would know them better, not in the slightest, but because Draco had always made his opinion on half-breed's very clear; he loathed them. She could only imagine what he would say or do during this lesson to ruin it for Hagrid and with everyone well aware of this, at least they might be able to make it bearable for the poor man in return.

'Hurry up!' called Hagrid, his voice booming with impatience. He clapped and waved them on before beginning to walk along the forest edge, forcing them all to turn and follow. Eventually, they came to an empty paddock, where he stopped and clapped his hands together again. 'I want everyone ter gather around the fence, make sure yeh can see, that's it. Now, everyone will need ter open their books and - '

The chilling voice of Draco broke in, board and drawing. 'How exactly are we supposed to do that?'

He had a point. Cassy and many others pulled theirs from their bags, all bound and held warily and upon seeing them, Hagrid deflated.

'Yer stroke it,' he said once he realised no one at all had managed to open one. He demonstrated with Hermione's, pressing one large finger on the spine and soon enough the book fell open silently. He looked around, keen to see everyone handle theirs, but many still appeared wary of taking their bindings off.

Cassy tucked hers under her arm, opting to first help Neville remove the layers of tape that bound his. Just as the last few layers remained, the book snapped its jaws open, spitting pages and biting fiercely. The corner of Neville's sleeve was caught in the teeth and was extracted shredded before being dropped to the floor and stepped on. He leant down to stroke the spine and then stepped off, smiling in exasperation at Cassy.

'Why is it always me?' he said.

Cassy shook her head unknowingly, while loosening the band that secured her own book and stroked the spine before it was completely removed.

Once everyone had succeeded, Hagrid hurried around to the edge of the forest and out of sight.

'I think you need some new robes, mate,' said Ron, stepping over towards them. He glanced down irritatedly at his own book when he spotted torn fabric wedged between the pages of Neville's. 'Vicious things, aren't they? Nearly gnawed through the table leg when I opened it at home.'

'They should come with instructions,' said Dean from behind him.

'Hagrid wouldn't find them fun if they were simple,' reminded Harry with a smile and everyone nodded unhappily.

It was statements like that which made Cassy recall exactly why she had been apprehensive of the class to begin with. Fluffy, Norbert and Aragog were not considered to be "safe" pets, especially not for a school, yet Hagrid found them fascinating. What creatures he could possibly have plucked out of the forest for the lesson was a mystery she was a little wary to solve.

Answers came soon enough, for Hagrid suddenly emerged with a peculiar best by his side. It had the head, long, curving neck and forelegs of and eagle and the hind quarters of a horse. It could not be mistaken as anything other than a Hippogriff. Several more emerged, connected by long chains around their necks as Hagrid lead them into the empty paddock. He shacked them to the fence and turned with a big smile, ready to start.

'Closer, closer,' he urged. The Gryffindors edged closer, with the exception of Brown and Patil, who remained a foot further back. 'They are proud creatures, easily offended and damn hard to get 'em to forgive yeh. There ruddy dangerous too, if yeh do offend 'em, so watch yer step.'

That was obvious, thought Cassy, eyeing the foot long talons that jutted out from their front legs. With steely-grey, pointed beaks and sharp orange eyes, the general disposition of the creatures appeared aggressive and alert. They pulled on their restraints and kicked the dirt irritably as Hagrid circled them in delight.

'Right, so who wants ter be first?' he said.

No one moved forward and Hagrid's expression fell again, his beady eyes crinkling with the thought of failure and his nerves were beginning to show again. It was enough to make Harry step forward and loudly proclaim: 'I will,' before hopping over the railings.

Hagrid grinned at him. 'I can always count on yeh, Harry,' he said joyfully. He moved back towards the chains and untied one, pulling it closer to Harry before slipping off its collar.

Cassy watched with great interest and moved forward to rest her forearms on the wooden fence. Several others shuffled nearer as well as Harry stared long and hard at the Hippogriff, which turned to survey him with one eye. Harry then bowed and the Hippogriff, Buckbeak, was slow to react, but after a tense moment, also descended and Hagrid broke out into applause.

'That's it, Harry, that's it!' he cheered. He urged Harry closer, nodding at him to stroke the curving, grey beak and watched with such enthusiasm that he was practically dancing on the spot.

'Harry is doing very well,' commented Cassy quietly.

'He needs to be careful,' said Neville. 'If anything was going to happen, it would happen to Harry.'

'Or you,' added Ron, who shrugged as Neville turned to eye him ungratefully.

While watching them with amusement, Cassy could see her cousin less than ten foot away, sneering. His hands gripped the wood tightly, a mild restraint against his utter disappointment that the Hippogriff had not been as dangerous as Hagrid had said.

The class broke out into applause as Harry gained confidence and Buckbeak closed his eyes content. As she clapped, Cassy leant over to Neville and Ron, muttering just loud enough for them to hear, 'Keep an eye on Draco. He is a little less than pleased that Hagrid it teaching and I do not want him to ruin this for him.'

'Malfoy can shove it, this is a great lesson so far,' said Ron, a little too loudly as everyone fell silent again as they heard Hagrid's next command.

'What?' asked Harry dumbly.

'Jus' climb on up and sit behind the wing joint. Be careful not to pull any feathers out, though, he won't like yeh for that,' said Hagrid.

'Is he seriously going to fly on its back?' asked Hermione.

'I don't know why you are surprised anymore, Hermione,' said Cassy airily, glancing at her friend out the corner of her eye with a smile.

When Harry was securely on, Hagrid slapped the Hippogriff's hind-leg and set it off running. Suddenly, giant wings burst open, at least twice the length of an average man's height and beat down harshly, propelling both it and Harry into the air.

The students were clapping again as he circled the paddock, looking both exhilarated and terrified. He landed roughly and flung himself forward so not to fall, his fingers seizing the grey feathers long after Buckbeak had stopped moving.

The cheering crowd moved forward in a cautious jog, eager to try their own hand, but wary enough not to charge. Each congratulated Harry as they passed and Cassy, Neville and Hermione trotted to his side gleefully.

'That was fantastic,' praised Neville.

Harry grinned and looked back towards Buckbeak. His smile dimmed when he caught sight of Draco, Crabbe and Goyle surrounding him. He nodded his head towards them and said, 'I don't think Buckbeak is too impressed. He needs to back away.'

'He was not too pleased you were not mauled,' said Cassy, biting her lip.

Draco patted the Hippogriff's beak slowly.

'Well, I can't say I'm surprised,' said Harry dryly. 'He looked like a right miserable git earlier.'

'Language,' reprimanded Cassy lightly.

'Sorry, I just don't want him spoiling this for Hagrid. He's so excited.'

They all watched said boy for a moment as he spoke loudly about the simplicity of the task. Buckbeak clawed back the dirt under his feet as raised his head sharply.

'You're not dangerous at all, are you?' said Draco, rounding on him.

Buckbeak snorted.

Cassy took a step forward, ready to speak up if Draco were to take the taunting any further. He was antagonising the creature and Cassy could not bring herself to be surprised. It was a mixture of bitterness and arrogance that fuelled his words – like nearly every time he opened his mouth around her house-mates – unwarranted and disliked and Cassy was certain that if he continued, both the Hippogriff and the students closest to him would have something to say on the matter.

Apparently, Harry had the same thought, for he had moved closer than she, his voice loud. 'Malfoy, stop.'

Draco turned with a haughty look on his face. He asked, 'And why is that, Saint Potter?'

'You're going to offend him and you'll deserve everything you get,' said Harry.

'Then why stop me?' he asked mockingly, eyebrows raised. Turning back to Buckbeak, he reached out again, not at all bothered as he recoiled.

Harry opened his mouth, then closed his again, opting to reach out and pull Draco away instead. He protested, roughly clasping at Harry's hands on the front of his shirt. Crabbe and Goyle quickly stepped up and were mirrored by the Ron and Dean, who were closest.

'I won't let you won't ruin this for him,' muttered Harry.

'We'll see,' growled Draco, snarling.

Harry released Draco's shirt as the entire lesson ground to a halt. Only those nearest had paid any attention at first, but as the noise tapered off, all attention was drawn to the squabbling pair. Hagrid came bustling over, a hand placed on either boy's chest and pushed them apart an arm's length before removing them. He looked between the pair, nervous and unsure. It was not the way he intended his lesson to go and with Harry in the centre, he was reluctant to discipline.

'All right, all right, settle down, both of yeh,' he commanded. 'Lesson dismissed, I reckon yer've all had enough for one day, judging by that.'

The class slowly began to split up, leaving only Cassy, Harry, Neville, Hermione and surprisingly Ron who remained.

'You were right, Cassy. He is purposefully trying to be a git – more so than usual,' said Ron, scowling at Draco's retreating back.

'He is often stupid when showing off and this just proves it. He could have been killed if he offended Buckbeak,' said Cassy with a distasteful frown.

'What?' asked Hagrid, having missed the words exchanged between Harry and Draco.

'Mafoy apparently wasn't too please I wasn't maimed and so decided the task didn't require his best attention. He was insulting Buckbeak when I came over. I didn't want anything to happen because I wanted your first lesson to go as smoothly as possible,' said Harry.

Hagrid looked conflicted. 'That's nice of yeh, Harry, but I'm a teacher now and if yeh fight in my class again I'll have to give yeh detention.' His voice held no conviction and they all knew Hagrid would feel terrible about doing any such thing, but Harry was not concerned and told him so.

'Then you can give me detention,' he said with a shrug. 'Honestly, Hagrid, I would rather have one than give Malfoy the opportunity to get you fired.'

'Harry's right,' piped up Hermione fretfully. 'If Buckbeak had attacked you would be in all sorts of trouble. We'll need to keep an eye on him in the future.'

'Yeh really think he'll be that much of a problem?' asked Hagrid anxiously.

'He was not too quiet about his opinion of this class,' said Cassy blandly. She suspected that everyone had at least heard one of his comments as they gathered around waiting, it was not difficult and as smooth talking as Draco could be, his voice was as audible as nails on a chalk board when he wished for it. 'If he is watched then perhaps he can be stopped. If he is stopped enough, there may be a chance that Draco will simply grow board and either stop his childishness, or drop the class.'

'Yeh think so?' said Hagrid hopefully and Cassy did not wish to tell him that she did indeed, but the chance was very minute. His mother was, after all, a Black and he had inherited his perseverance from her. It would take a lot for Draco to grow tired of harassing Hagrid; it had been two years and he still enjoyed antagonising Harry so there was a slim chance.

However, Cassy did not have to answer, because Neville was readily patting Hagrid's arm comfortingly, reassuring him with promises of their help.

Soon, Hagrid retreated over to the other side of the paddock, untying the chains that bound the Hippogriffs. That signalled the time for the five to leave and they ascended the hill slowly, talking animatedly about the lesson and avoiding Draco's name if possible, keen to forget the boy for the time being. Harry explained what it was like to fly on Buckbeak, listing the differences between that and his Nimbus two-thousand, which he declared the better of the two. Ron listened avidly, nodding and humming enthusiastically, while Cassy, Hermione and Neville shared a look of mock exasperation. The two were too enthralled in their own conversation to notice their chuckles.

As they walked, a quiet, indistinguishable shout caught their attention and they craned their necks to find the source. Eventually, Neville spotted a huddle of people nearer to the castle doors. One with unmistakable red hair.

'That's Ginny,' said Harry. 'Let's go see what's going on.'

Again, Ginny voiced sounded, louder and sharper than before. She took a step forward, closer to the three in front and move to block the blonde that idly stood there. Upon seeing the confrontation, the five picked up pace, especially Ron, who charged towards his sister with a deep-set scowl.

'Oy, what's going on here then?' he shouted, startling the students and forcing their attention on to the Gryffindors.

The three students, identified as Ravenclaws by their uniforms, said nothing and shuffled back a step. Ginny, on the other hand, rounded to them with a scowl. She waved her hand to the three in front and said, 'These idiots were picking on Luna.'

"Luna" had to be the blonde girl that stood unwaveringly calm. She had long, wavy that was a few inches shorter than Cassy's own and large, protruding silver eyes that were not helped by her vacant expression. She looked spacey and detached, which was wholly reflected in her light, delicate voice.

'Hello,' she said dreamily.

'Hello,' said the slow voices Harry, Neville and Hermione back at the same time.

Cassy nodded her head as Lovegood's eyes drifted by. Ron having been stumped by the girl's rather large, mismatched button earrings, said nothing at all.

'Anyway, I was just telling them to leave her alone. They were trying to take her bag,' said Ginny.

'Not her bag,' said the tall boy on the right. 'Just that paper of hers in it. The Quilmore or something. She kept reciting things from it and we wanted to shut her up.'

'That's rude, you can't simply take other people's property,' scolded Hermione, but the boy's face simply screwed up.

'You would want to too if you heard the stuff Loony Lovegood spouts.'

'Don't call her Loony,' said Ginny harshly, fixing the boy with a formidable glare Cassy had never seen her use before. It was one to be proud of and she watched with amusement as the Ravenclaw's realised this too and moved away.

'Just go, we don't want to catch you picking on her again,' said Neville in his best commanding voice.

Tthe students pulled away, retreating back up to the castle with glances thrown over their shoulders. When they were out of sight, Harry turned to Lovegood and asked, 'Are you all right?'

'Oh yes, I'm fine. If they wanted my copy of the Quibbler they could have just asked. My father is the editor, you know,' she said with a smile.

'Well, as long as you're all right,' said Hermione hesitantly.

'I want to visit the lake and see if I can find that Dabberblimp I saw before I was interrupted. I do hope it is still there, they love water. Perhaps I can return in time for pudding. Good-bye.' Lovegood skipped past them, descending the sloping hill with her hands linked behind her back and her head held high.

'A what?' asked Hermione.

'I don't know. She mentions some creatures that I'm pretty sure don't exist, but she seems to believe they do; that's probably one of them. She _is_ a little loony,' said Ginny fondly. 'She's nice though and people would see it too, if they gave her a chance.'

'She seems pleasant,' commented Neville, before moving towards the doors.

'What do you mean she believes in things that don't exist? What is a Dabberblimp supposed to be?' questioned Hermione quickly, catching up to Ginny, who merely shrugged.

Cassy cast one last look back to the Ravenclaw second year. She had stopped by some of the large rocks and was staring into the gap between the two for a long while before crouching down and out of sight. The idea of being able to tell so little of a person from their first meeting alarmed Cassy, but she was truly difficult to understand. Her nonchalance and whimsical voice had thrown her off track and Cassy knew as soon as she turned back to the double doors of the entrance hall, she would see her again. Luna Lovegood was a positive mystery to her and this could be one person she may enjoy dissembling.

* * *

**So, this is chapter four and it has some pretty big changes to the key elements of the book. I hope you like it and a little feedback would be appreciated. I don't normally mind only getting one or two reviews for a chapter (I occasionally get none), but the start of my stories usually receive quite a few, so I was a bit concerned that I currently only have two. Perhaps I've just lost a lot of readers and people aren't interested anymore, but if you are I would like to know. It makes me a bit disheartened.**

**Anyway, that's all I really have to say for now. I'll try and update soon, but the writing of a later chapter is going a little bit slow. It's an important chapter and I can't seem to get the opening tone correct, so I'm rewriting it all the time. I'm sure I'll get it done soon.**

**Thanks!**


	5. Pestering

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter V: Pestering**

The slow ticking of the clock on Professor McGonagall's desk was the only sound that broke the silence. The stern woman herself stood behind the table, carefully judging each of their reactions and with a critical eye turned to Hermione, who stood off to the side awkwardly.

Hermione shuffled her feet, meeting the Professor's gaze briefly. In her hand was a long, golden chain with a small pendant on the end – the cause of the tension and disbelief. Her promise had been broken, not intentionally, of course, for Hermione would never willingly betray someone's trust like that, but all the same, it had been. She had been forced to request a meeting and although Professor McGonagall had taken it better than she expected, she still waited for the moment the chain was to be snatched from her possession, and with it her ambitions.

Her friends stood in a line, looking at various points around the room with nothing to say, but a million thoughts bubbling in their minds. Neville nodded with each word that had been said, instantly promising his silence and to never touch what was not his. Harry was curious, but his was no match for the inquisitive fire burning in Cassy's eyes. Hermione knew her too well by this point to expect her to leave the necklace be. Even if she did not voice her questions, she would very much find out one way or another what she wanted to know and it was she whom Hermione was most concerned with discovering her secret. She was not concerned with Cassy taking it – she had more trust in her than that – but the close eye and thoughtful probing would surely drive her mad. A taste of her own medicine, she was certain.

'Right,' said Professor McGonagall, 'now you have all thought about it and the consequences, you may leave. Any issues, Miss Granger, be sure to return to me and I will ensure they do not happen again.' Once again, they were given a severe stare before filing out of the room and into the equally quiet corridor. It was one of the brightest Saturdays Hogwarts had seen that autumn and everyone had been keen to pile outside to enjoy it while they could. It was only that which meant they could walk undisturbed back to the common room.

'May I look at it?' asked Cassy to Hermione.

'No. Didn't you hear Professor McGonagall?' replied Hermione as she tucked the necklace back under her blouse.

'I have no intention of using it, I merely wish to see one up close,' said Cassy simply.

Hermione frowned down at her and said nothing. Cassy was pleased to note that while she had not said yes, it was also not a no and that meant by dinner she could probably get her way and see it easily enough.

'I'm still surprised though. I never thought time travel was possible,' said Harry.

'Yes, but you can only go back a few hours remember. Besides, you should still think it is impossible. I can't believe you three caught on that quickly,' grumbled Hermione.

'Our classes were split and occurred at the same time, Hermione. We were bound to notice quickly, unless you really thought we would not speak at all about them,' stated Cassy. Perhaps if she had not been taking Muggle Studies it all would have gone unnoticed, for how long was uncertain, because Hermione's disappearances caused alertness right from the beginning. Cassy would give it a few months before they would have confronted her about it and revealed the time-turner once again. However, that time was irrelevant because the time-turner was already recognised and the three could not stop their minds filling up with possibilities, even though they had promised not to use it. It was difficult for any of them to turn down the chance to spend countless hours exploring the castle and discovering all its secrets, to rewind and spend an extra hour in bed or take an hour more to do the homework that had been avoided all week.

'Have you never even thought-'

'No, Cassy,' said Hermione sharply.

'I was just asking. Rules and regulations need to be followed, I understand,' she replied lightly as they climbed through the portrait hole.

Harry looked as if he had something to add, but soon vanished up to his dormitory to fetch his broomstick. He was already garbed in his Quidditch uniform and with the pressure applied by Captain Oliver Wood, he had no time to stand and talk. Practise was already under way and although Harry had been excused by their head of house for the meeting, Wood saw it as slacking and demanding Harry meet them on the pitch as soon as possible. As soon as possible would undoubtedly be too slow for Wood, but Harry would rather not set Quidditch season of any more poorly than it had.

With Harry soon racing off towards the pitch, it did not take Hermione long to settle by the fire and for Neville to retreat into the company of Professor Sprout. Their shared enthusiasm never ceased to brighten Neville's day and no one thought to protest his absence because his courage was flourishing in the subject. This left Cassy to entertain herself for the morning and the prospect of sitting with her new potions book only occupied her mind for a brief moment. Her feet were too restless and her mind numbly hazy to really want to try to concentrate, although she was sure she could.

Instead, Cassy dismissed herself after staring blankly out the window for ten minutes. Hermione waved her away with a small good-bye and Cassy descended the marble staircases leisurely, decided she might spend her alone time to potter across the grounds and perhaps see how Hagrid had been with the rest of his classes.

It is nice to have a moment to myself, Cassy thought gleefully as she stepped into the cool sunshine. The clouds had parted to reveal the summer sun. It lacked most of its warm rays, but it hardly mattered as long as the ground was dry and ready for the students to throw themselves on without a moments notice. However, Cassy's feet barely made it three steps onto the grass before she stopped.

'Ow, Crookshanks? Stop it, get off,' she demanded, nudging the cat away from her with her foot.

The large, ginger cat just pushed against her again, sinking his claws into her leg as she took a step away. With more conviction, Cassy nudged it again, quickly stepping around, but Crookshanks bolted underneath her feet and forced her to halt again as her foot connected accidentally with his side.

'Oh,' she mumbled, crouching, 'see what happens when you pester people? Silly Cat. Why have you been bothering me so much lately, hm? Is it because I said I am not overly fond of cats? Well, I must say you are a fine feline.' She stroked his head and watched him run four feet before turning back to her. He meowed and went another foot and waited again. He stared at her with narrowed yellow-eyes and Cassy looked back with doubtful ones of her own. Standing, she took a step forward, then stooped and rubbed her right-hand fingers together. She bit her lip when he only moved further away. 'I'm not following you,' she said. After another pause, she looked all around her quickly and sighed heavily. She set off after the cat.

'This is what my time has come to? I can truly think of nothing else to do by myself than to follow a cat? I knew having friends was detrimental one way or another,' she muttered to herself. It occurred to her that one thing that may be stranger than following a cat, was witnessing the same person talking to themself at the same time and promptly stopped.

Crookshanks would stop every few steps to look back and then ran ahead again. The pathway was leading straight down the grassy slopes towards the Forbidden Forest and Cassy knew that is he was to go beyond its boarders, she would stop, the memories of her first year being less than pleasing. She would stop and apologise to Hermione for allowing her cat to wander away and potentially mauled.. However, at the last moment, he changed direction and scuttled along the edge towards the Black Lake and a smaller, less ominous looking cluster of trees. Suddenly, he sprinted through a bush and out of sight.

Slowly, Cassy walked up to it and peered around, making sure no-one was able to see her and parted the branches and stepped through. She drew her wand, feeling slightly foolish for doing so, but with each step she took voices became clearer and the thickening branches of ever ageing trees filtered through less and less light. Cassy peered around one of the tress and saw the backs of two familiar people, with Crookshank weaving between them.

'Where exactly did you get that, Luna?' asked Ginny as she eyed the chunk of raw meat the other held in her hand.

'The kitchens,' replied Lovegood, holding it out towards the bush. 'I wonder what's wrong with Bordjin?'

'Bordjin?' repeated Ginny incredulously.

'He needs a name,' said Lovegood.

'Fine, but not Bordjin. How about Crockett?'

'No, it has to start with a "B",' argued Lovegood lightly. She edged towards the bush and pried back the branches with her free hand.

'What exactly have you got?' said Cassy suddenly.

Ginny visibly jumped and Lovegood turned slowly. Clambering to her feet, Ginny breathed out deeply in relief and dusted off her hands. She said, 'Cassy! You startled me. How did you find us here? We are pretty much out of sight.'

'Crookshanks,' said Cassy, while watching the cat paw at the push. As it did so, the bush shuffled and something long and black protruded from the base. After another moment of hesitation, a second one joined it and Cassy suddenly realised they belonged to an animal.

'After Herbology, Luna and I were walking past and we heard a whine. We went to look because Luna – well, I don't really remember what you called it, Luna,' Ginny trailed off and turned to her friend, who appeared to have little interest in the current conversation. She turned from the branches and back to Cassy with a smile.

'You look much nicer with a smile, Cassiopeia,' said Lovegood airily. She stared, expression unchanging as Cassy's morphed from one of shock to affronted. Calming quickly, Cassy smiled politely and thanked her without displaying the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Instead, she turned to the snuffling animal that shifted within the bush. The long, black feet scraped backwards and then an equally dark mussel protruded from the bush. It was a dog, Cassy confirmed, rubbing her thumb and forefingers together, calling him towards her as she crouched.

The dog was very large, but very thin. The dark fur was matted together with dirt and tiny stones, roughening his already course coat. Most would need cutting out if he were to ever look presentable again and Cassy frowned at the sight of his claws, broken and jagged, as if he had chewed them off himself. None of this was what caught her attention most though, for that was really due to the piercing grey eyes that she had never seen on a dog before.

Slowly, he crawled out of the bush fully and stood wearily. With eyes fixed on Cassy, he took a step forward and paused. Then, as if suddenly making up his mind, the dog bounded forward, skidding into her side and knocking her feet from underneath her. Even as she sat on the ground, the dog sniffed and nudged her, wagging his tail furiously and with a bark, tipped her to the floor as he tried to lick her face.

'He likes you,' said Ginny with a laugh. 'He dived in the bush just before you arrived, but I'm guessing you don't seem to scare him anymore.'

Cassy did not reply immediately because the task of pushing off an emaciated dog was more difficult than expected, especially as he kept wiggling with the force of his propelling tail. 'Be that as it may, _I_ would like for him to maybe like me a little less so that I may sit up properly.'

As if hearing her, the dog backed away slowly and sat closely to her side, still wiggling. A long tongue hung from his panting mouth, allowing rancid air to escape and forcing Cassy to lean further away.

'When did you find him then?' she asked.

'About three days ago. Me and Luna come down at least twice a day to feed him some leftovers from meal times,' replied Ginny as she reached over to scratch the dogs head. 'I don't know where he's come from, but he looks like he's been through a war.'

'Have you thought about informing Hagrid? I am sure he would take good care of him.'

'That's an idea, actually. But would be have room?' said Ginny thoughtfully.

'Even if he did not have room in his hut, Hagrid is a good man and would care for Butterscotch anyway,' said Lovegood.

Cassy and Ginny paused, both raised their eyebrows and turned to Lovegood with sceptical expressions. Ginny said, 'He's a little fierce to be a Butterscotch, don't you think?'

Lovegood obviously did not agree, although said nothing against it, and she and Ginny were once again consumed in a rally of possible names for the dog, ranging from bad to worse. This allowed Cassy a moment to think, even if Crookshanks had seized the opportunity to crawl onto her lap when she had been still that moment too long. She petted his fur absently.

It was undeniable that Hagrid would be the best option to care for the dog, yet given his history with animals, perhaps it was not the best idea to hand him over. If he was forced to give the dog up due to his new obligations – although Cassy could not see this occurring easily, for Hagrid loved creatures far too much – the dog could be sent anywhere and anything could happen. Cassy could tell the dog was resilient, a fighter, for wherever he had come from had to have been horrendous, fur matted and skin taught against his bone, yet he sat still and waiting, ready to greet and be greeted. He had walked for miles on scrapped and swollen feet; he still moved like a puppy. However, come the cold, snowy nights of the Scottish winter, he would need to be somewhere warmer than a bush by the lake.

'Bojangles,' offered Ginny with a shrug. She sighed when Lovegood shook her head and turned to Cassy. 'You can always join in, you know.'

Cassy glanced at her with half a smile, before looking at the dog.

'Belzebub,' said Lovegood and Ginny scrunched up her nose.

Patting the dog's neck, Cassy laughed quietly when he hung his head low and slid down slowly to the ground. Huffing into the grounded, he looked at her almost as if he could comprehend the names being suggested, before snapping his head to the side and clacking his jaws shut in a failed attempt to catch a fly. Cassy's hand moved to the top of his head and scratched his ear in an attempt to entertain the bored dog.

'If I had a dog,' she murmured, 'I would call him Blackjack.'

'Blackjack,' repeated Lovegood. 'That's nice, although I still prefer Bordjin.'

'We could call him that,' agreed Ginny.

'He is not my dog, so it is not my place to name him. Call him anything you please,' said Cassy, ignoring the puff of warm air on her hand as she did.

Ginny and Lovegood sat and looked thoughtful for a time – although Cassy noted that Luna never stopped having the vacant expression – but did eventually agree to name the dog Blackjack. Cassy was then sworn to secrecy. Agreeing was easy and she knew she had few people to tell and fewer that she wished to.

* * *

The low hissing potions and the crackling of a fuel-less fire filled the darkened space of the classroom. Professor Snape prowled along each line, taking extra time to criticise Neville as he cowered next to Harry in the row before Cassy and Hermione's own.

Cassy paused, inspecting her potion before flicking in a few remnants of the daisy roots into the potion. A murky-yellow colour seeped to the surface. Taking a small stick of charcoal from the tin case in her inner pocket, she scribbled down a note over the top of step three in her text book.

'Cassy,' whispered Hermione, 'you've added too much root. It's supposed to be brown.'

'It is fine. I will simply add more Shrivelfig and then less goat tongue. As far as I know, that should balance the acidity out again,' replied Cassy, while dropping in slivers of the Shrivelfig skin and stirring simultaneously. She was distantly aware of Hermione watching her. When the goat tongue was dropped in, the liquid suddenly brightened into a buttercup-yellow and Cassy moved to make more notes in her book.

'That's not going to be the same,' said Hermione. She looked at her own potion and extinguished the fire.

'No,' Cassy conceded. 'However, this has a higher potency and thus shrink things more than the one in the book. It would have with the same amount of tongue, but this way it returns to neutral and is less corrosive when applied, I believe.' She turned to Hermione with what was possibly verging on smugness, pleased to see Hermione's typical frown in place, voicing a year's worth of disapproval in a second.

'That wasn't what we were asked to make though. We're making standard potions.'

'True, but-' Cassy uncorked a veil from her pocket, 'I have some things I intend to try this year and while I am here, I may as well stock up on useful things.' A small amount of the potion was poured into the glass tube and tucked back into her pocket and the ladle was back in the cauldron just in time for Professor Snape to inspect. He said nothing to either girl as he passed, but his eyes lingered a moment too long on Cassy's enhanced potion.

She wondered if he noticed for a moment, but shrugged the idea away. It did not matter either way, for no punishment was received and no harm was done. Her attention quickly pulled in another direction; a little table at the side of the room used to gather ingredients from was currently occupied by both Harry and Draco, one frowning and one grinning haughtily. Cassy watched for a moment, trying to lip-read Draco, but the incessant smirk on his lips made it difficult, especially with what she imagined to be his drawling voice. Then, as if sensing danger, Neville appeared by Harry's side and pulled him away back to the table in front.

'What was that about?' asked Cassy casually. Their little fights had become more frequent since last year, with a noticeable increase of slandering from Draco regarding her friends. Most of it was petty, yet the look on Harry's face – darkened and contorted – slowed her hand and put the book on the table.

'I'm not sure,' he said, looking at Draco over his shoulder. 'He asked if I had gone looking for Black and then said that he would have when I said I hadn't. I asked him why and he seemed shocked about something and then started smirking. That's when Neville came over.' He looked at Cassy seriously, but she was frowning back.

'I don't know,' she admitted. Of course everyone knew her father was a supporter of Voldemort, so it was possible that Draco suspected Harry to want to go after him. However, Harry was not that petty, having expressed no interest in the man – at least not to Cassy herself. Surely Draco did not expect Harry to want to find him because of that, but then again he might have. Draco had the utmost adoration for his parents, even Lucius, who could be a little cold at times. He probably would hunt them down.

'He's making it up. Especially if Cassy doesn't know about it, I mean, she knows practically everything about the Black family,' piped up Ron, who had witnessed the exchange from his table behind Cassy's.

'Ignore him, Harry. The last thing we need is to have you running off and doing something you'll regret,' said Hermione sharply.

'I don't plan on confronting him either way,' assured Harry, his eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head. 'But... are you sure nothing at all springs to mind, Cassy?'

Shaking her head, Cassy packed away her potion, saving another bottle to place of Professor Snape's desk to be graded. 'Everything I know about _him_ I have already told you. Not much was known about him after school and I probably know even less.'

The four accepted this and nothing more was said about it as they climbed up another marble staircase towards Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry's mind still whirled, Cassy's doing much the same and both concluding nothing. Hermione had vanished soon after they left the classroom and Harry shrugged off Ron's query with: 'She does that sometimes.'

Having sensed that Harry would say nothing more, Ron took two paces forward and honed in on Neville, set to pester him about the strangeness in Hermione's sudden disappearance. Neville listened with false agreement, barely hiding his underlying anxiety.

Cassy leaned her head closer to Harry and with a low mumble said, 'I think it would be best if you ignored Draco.'

Harry looked at her and pursed his lips. 'Yeah...' he said slowly, before turning his head away. He remained quiet and both were very aware they had resolved nothing. Cassy could not help but fill the silence with her thoughts, mulling over what her cousin had possibly said one more time, before they drifted to Neville and Ron in front and then on to Hermione and what class she possibly had or was having, she was still unsure as to how the time-turner operated. She would look it up later, she decided as they drew to a slow halt outside the classroom. Peering inside, they saw Dean and Seamus at a desk murmuring to each other, but no teacher.

'Are we early?' said Ron, shrugging his bag from his shoulder and throwing it under the desk beside his friends.

'Oh, there is a first time for everything, isn't there, Ron?' breathed Hermione as she strode past them, small puffs of air escaping her.

'What's that supposed to mean?' he cried.

'You didn't really think no one notices you wondering late every other day, did you? It's so bad that even Professor Flitwick had begun ignoring it,' she said, slipping into a seat near where Cassy and the others were standing.

'I'm never that late and if I am I'm never the only one,' disputed Ron, but to no avail. Hermione was not listening and instead pulled her book from her bag, which Cassy noticed was neatly sown across the underside. Ron grumbled for a moment and then turned back in his seat after shrugging at Harry, who grinned and flashed his eyebrows back.

Taking their seats, Harry leant closer to Hermione and observed the books in her bag. 'Busy morning? You might want to consider taking a break every now and then, because you'll make yourself ill.'

'I'm fine,' she said.

Harry looked at her doubtfully and Hermione threw her head backwards, rolling her eyes. She smiled at him and said, 'Really, Harry. I can take care of myself and if the work really becomes too much, I'll...'

'Drop a subject?' offered Neville.

Hermione's eyes widened and her lips became pursed for a moment, before she composed herself and turned back to the items on her desk. 'It will be fine,' she said.

'That's a no then, Nev,' said Harry, grinning to Cassy and Neville. They sniggered as Hermione's eyebrows twitched down before she was able to catch her expression. The four quickly looked away from one another as the brisk footsteps of Professor Lupin rang from the doorway and just like the rest of the class, their books were dragged towards them and all eyes fixing on the back of Professor Lupin's shabby jacket.

He turned to face them, face still gaunt and thin, but brightened somewhat in what could simply have been happiness. His eyes were lighter, as if something had put a particularly good thought into his head that morning and it shone further when he surveyed the class. He clapped his hands. 'Books away, everyone,' he said.

Everyone exchanged looks and Cassy peered curiously at the new Professor. Surely the Dementor on the train meant the man was half-decent at Defence, so the practical could not be so bad. Then again, she reminded herself, not a lot could make practicals any duller than Professor Lockhart's misguided and messy ones the previous year.

Following his instructions, everyone stood and followed the Professor into the hall, before they gathered around the staffroom door. A chorus of muffled giggles erupted as Professor Lupin expelled gum from the keyhole, shooting it straight into Peeves' nostril as he floated passed to laugh. They filed in slowly, Professor Lupin being last, and at the same time Professor Snape make a quick exit.

His voice was snide as he said: 'I would watch out for Longbottom, Lupin. He struggles with the simplest of tasks and borrows confidence that is not his own.'

Cassy and Harry moved closer to Neville, the former raising her arm to Neville's shoulder, while Harry glared openly.

'Oh?' said Professor Lupin nonchalantly. He smiled and pushed the door shut, edging Professor Snape out completely. Turning, he swept towards the far side of the room. The cabinet he stood behind have a tremendous shudder and the little feet that held it up groaned.

'Are you all right, Neville?' whispered Hermione, frowning.

'Ignore him, Neville. You are doing far better in your lessons than in first year,' advised Cassy.

Those nearer the front of the crowd jumped back suddenly and the four found themselves nearer to the front than they would have liked. Risking being seen, Harry stooped down to Neville's ear, 'Snape can't talk about confidence when he obviously doesn't have enough to get in a shower.'

Neville snorted, flinging his hand to his mouth, while Cassy closed her eyes with a smile. Hermione inclined her head to the floor, but they were all sure she was smiling.

Professor Lupin looked at them for a moment, before clapping his hands. 'Inside this cabinet is a Boggart; who knows what one is?'

Hermione's hand shot into the air. A Boggart was a dark-dwelling creature that could change shapes at will – normally to ones worst fears – and its regular one unknown and yet to be observed. However, as Harry soon guessed, using his superior arm span to catch the Professor's attention, a Boggart could only shift into one thing at a time and if confronted with too many people, its form would fail as it would not know what to be.

Professor Lupin put away his wand. 'Now, we're going to practise a spell the repel Boggarts wandlessly at first, okay? Repeat after me, _Riddikulus_. Can anyone tell me what they think that spell does.'

Hermione's hand was once again in the air and although Cassy knew, she concentrated on slowly drifting to the side of the group.

It would turn the Boggart into something silly, something that would make you laugh and therefore deter them as their use of fear would be redundant; her mind supplied.

Hermione answered in one breath with a lengthier explanation that made Professor Lupin smile widely and the rest of the class groan. He gave her five points and moved on to Neville, beckoning him forward. He moved slowly, casting a look of despair at anyone that caught his eye.

'Right, Neville,' said Professor Lupin, 'what frightens you the most?'

Neville opened his mouth, but hesitated. He looked back to Harry and then to Professor Lupin, before stating, 'My grandmother.'

Everyone's eyebrows surged upwards, apart from Cassy and Harry, who had met the woman on several occasions. Perhaps it was her constant barrage of criticism, or her sharp, unnerving eyes that placed her at the top of the list, but it was all together unsurprising. Harry smiled and nodded as Neville peered about again. His expression crinkled further as he looked at where Cassy should have been, but was not. Turning his head quickly, Neville spotted her at the end of the horse-shoe shaped group, alone. Although she saw his questioning expression, she made no movement to answer and his attention was soon drawn back to the cabinet by Professor Lupin.

'Now, I want you to focus very hard and say the incantation when the Boggart turns into her, okay, Neville? You have nothing to fear.' He unlocked the door and flung it open, revealing the wiry frame of Neville's grandmother. She stood with pursed-lips, hands clenched tightly to the strap of her bright red handbag.

Neville raised his arm as she stepped towards him.

'Neville!' she snapped, holding up one finger. 'I swear if I- h-ha...' Suddenly, her voice failed her and her hand wrapped around her throat, her open mouth letting out a faint squeak with each syllable attempted. Then, just as surprisingly, a terrible sound erupted, as if someone let the air out of a balloon and the body became saggy and puddled to the floor in a heap. A chorus of quiet giggles broke out across the class.

'Excellent, Neville,' said Professor Lupin enthusiastically. He shut the cabinet door again. 'I want you all the think of what scares you the most, and what would make you laugh the most. Think how they can effect one another – how you could make light of your worst nightmare.'

Cassy shrunk back again, her movement invisible to anyone who was not already staring directly at her. Hands flexing, she closed her eyes for a moment. It bothered her, the idea of already being so aware of her fear – and _that_ being the one thing that came to mind – was absurd, a paranoia and she had no idea how to explain it if she was asked. She could see what the Boggart would become in her mind and she wanted to take another step away, another step to the side of the room, but her feet would not move. Her pride would not let them.

Opening her eyes, she glanced over to her friends; Harry, who also had his eyes closed, Neville looked relieved that he had already gone and Hermione could not have looked more eager, tilting her whole body forward towards the cabinet, wand in hand.

'All right, everyone ready?' called the Professor and everyone nodded. Cassy wished someone would speak up and decline, but nobody did.

The door was open again and the Boggart was out. Neville waved his wand again, edging it away and then Patil was called and she swept forward gracefully, unlike her mummified Boggart than unravelled and fell towards Finnigan.

'Seamus!' shouted Professor Lupin.

The mummy quickly rose, but in another crack and a wail, it was gone. A rat – a snake – a moth – a pile of scattered papers, each marked with a large "T" covered the floor. There was a little snigger that spread through the class at Hermione, before the Boggart was pushed onto the next person, changing quickly. Then, suddenly, it was in front of her and Cassy could not function.

'Cassy!' she her Professor Lupin shout encouragingly like he had with everyone else.

The hand shifted suddenly, gaining a body of pale hue and garbed in a light blue gown. Long, blonde hair hung behind a pair of bony shoulders and glassy blue-eyes stared straight back at Cassy. She raised her wand and the figure's head tilted forward and the hair began to slip past, darkening and lengthening as it did. The eyes held her own and the face shifted too, before there was a crack and the Boggart staggered backwards, hair curly and yellow, face painted and a bright red nose that contrasted with the yellow and green striped overall.

The clown turned towards Ron and changed once more, but Cassy was no longer concentrating. She breathed deeply, scrunching her eyes shut quickly and looked up to see Harry take a step forward. His wand was raised, but Professor Lupin moved quicker. A large, white orb was in the middle of the room and simply hung there, until he waved his wand, although the site did not seem to phase him in the least. Neville was called forth once more and the Boggart was quickly locked away.

As the lesson was called to a sudden halt, a knock on her shoulder reminding her feet to move and collect her bag. Ignoring the chatter, her bag was slung over her shoulder and she exited, only to be joined by Harry, Neville and Hermione, each of whom had something different to say.

'He is an excellent teacher, what a good lesson that was,' burst Hermione cheerfully.

'I did it three times – _three_!' squealed Neville. 'Did you all see me? Well, I thought of Snape at first, but then I thought about it and -'

'Why didn't he let me try it?' asked Harry, his voice dull and strained.

'I'm sure he was just trying to wrap up the lesson, Harry. Maybe he'll let us try it again,' said Hermione and Neville nodded enthusiastically.

Harry frowned deeper and said nothing.

'Anyway, Cassy,' said Hermione, 'what exactly was yours?'

All three of them looked towards said girl. She did not look back, only half-aware of the conversation as it was, however, she did plaster a smirk on her face, eyes narrowing in false mirth. 'If you cannot guess, then I will not tell you. What use is my fear to you?'

Hermione huffed slightly. 'I'm just asking. After all, we are friends and you do know mine.'

'Hermione, everyone knew yours already. It wasn't hard to guess,' said Harry, seemingly beginning to push the thoughts from his mind.

Cassy missed what was said next as she spotted the portrait hole several steps ahead. Giving the password from a distance earned her a scathing stare from the Fat Lady, but she bore it no mind before waving back to her friends with the weak excuse of getting some work to do. In reality, her face hit her pillow and she buried into it deeply, blocking out all sound but her own pulse.

A representation she could cope with, but for all to witness it was too much. She did not want the questions that were sure to follow the excitement and worst of all, she seemed to be the only one bothered by her heart being on display.

But is that not always the way? She thought bitterly, rolling onto her back and pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes.

The thought persisted, but there was nothing she could possibly say. No one would accept the simple truth that they had all just seen her mother.

* * *

**Right, Right! **

**You will have to wait and see exactly what the Boggart part is about, although I'm sure some people can easily guess. Yes, it's her mother and before I get any scepticism about it, I ask that you wait for the reasoning, it might not be what you expect. I haven't said much about her past the Prologue, but I've always had her planned out more than I had the main bit of the story, haha.**

**Also, I had a question about relationships in this story and it seemed like a good time to address it as any. I do intent to have relationships in this series, although I have never wrote romance before. I also do not delve much into romantic love myself, so I hope I can capture it well when it arises, though that will not be for some time. In regards to who it will be, well, that's a surprise. I can tell you now that it will not be Draco, they were raised as family and that is what they see each other as. I am hoping if I write it well that people will stick with me no matter what pairing I put it, although I do not intent to go off the rails with them, so that might not be an issue.**

**Anyway, what do we think of Blackjack? Yay, nay? Well, he's here now and we'll have to see how the poor dog does in the future, won't we? **

**Thanks!**


	6. Hogsmead

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter VI: Hogsmead **

Harry watched the bright faces with a sense of satisfaction. The dread that had filled him over the summer quickly dissipated, and he was left with excitement bubbling in its place – he was going to Hogsmead. The idea of having to stay behind while everyone else ventured out to the village fell to the back of his mind as he walked down the stone steps, trailing somewhere in the middle of the gaggle of third-years with his friends.

Further up ahead was the rest of Gryffindor, who were marching at a pace that almost bulldozed a group of fifth-year girls to the ground. Dean turned, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling for them to hurry up, before turning to the front at the sight of Hermione's dismissive wave.

'Really,' she said, dragging her feet through a pile of fallen leaves, 'you'd think the village was walking away without us. We don't have to be back until dinner, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to visit everything.'

'It may be called a village, but it is quite large for one. It is more like a town, or so I'm told. Besides, Hermione, it is called excitement, something you were quite familiar with this morning,' replied Cassy airily. She stood between Harry and Hermione, navy cloak atop her double-breasted coat billowing out as she walked.

Hermione sniffed. 'I am excited. There is so much I want to look at, but I just don't see the point in practically running there. Did you not see how the older years were looking at us when Dean shouted?'

'Anyone would think you don't want to walk with Ron,' said Cassy. She smirked and did not turn to face the other, but Hermione saw it anyway.

'Who would want to walk with him? Him and his silly rat.' Despite her words, Hermione bit her lip and stared guiltily at the back of Ron's head.

'Don't worry, Hermione,' said Neville warmly, 'just apologise. I'm sure Ron will come around soon.'

Hermione said nothing and Cassy and Harry shared a look. As silence fell, they were quick to strike up a conversation of their own, with Neville and Hermione soon joining in and lasting until their feet hit the cobblestone of the village centre. From there, it was a direct line to the raised stand in the middle that held choirs and events, from which stemmed many streets with many more little shops along every one. The school suddenly split off into all directions, like a ripple in water, soon disappearing amongst the crowd and leaving only the thirds years lingering in the centre.

Harry squinted, nudged Neville and pointed to a spot not far away. He asked, 'Is that Fred and George? How did they get here so quickly? They were called to Professor McGonagall when we left.'

'Probably ran,' said Hermione conversationally. 'They sprint through the corridors often enough. They're probably very fast by now.'

'You should challenge them to a race, Harry. Win a few Galleons,' laughed Neville.

Picking a direction at random, the four wandered down the largest street, reading the painted signs and bright shop windows, but never entering anything. Several things caught their eyes, but with the prospect of something better just around the corner, they kept waiting – that is, until Hermione could wait no more, demanding everyone enter a little bookshop at the far end of the street.

'This shop is supposed to be brilliant' gushed Hermione quietly as the bell rang above the door.

Harry peered over the girls' heads while holding open the door for Neville to pass. The book was as small as it appeared on the outside and had far too much furniture in. The dark stained bookcases ran closely together and suddenly Harry found another reason to praise his skinny physique through the effort of edging through. He stooped down next to Cassy's head, reading the title of what she held, before losing interest rapidly. It was a potions book and anything to do with Harry's least favourite subject was low priority. Instead he sought out his other friends. Neville was still by the door, opting not to bother with the precarious task, while Hermione's bushy hair could just be seen near the counter. Her head bobbed furiously as an older woman in a velvet pointed hat spoke pointedly, glancing down at something in her hands.

'I am going to buy this,' muttered Cassy, slinking away towards Hermione and leaving Harry on his own. She pushed to the front, distracting the cashier from her conversation and paid for the book quickly, before ushering Hermione out of the shop with the aid of Harry and Neville. Such a shop was one that Hermione would become immersed in, and as much as Cassy enjoyed browsing herself, there were many more things she wished to see that day. Cutting Hermione short early on was the only sure way to get her out at all and as they pushed her down the leafy pathway they knew they had done so just in time.

'I wasn't done,' she protested, leaning back against Harry's hand and looking over her shoulder. 'I didn't even get to look at any of the shelves and the assistant was telling me all about a new collection they just got in-'

'Honestly, Hermione, we didn't leave school today to buy school things. Is there nothing else you want to see today like... the shrieking shack, or something?' said Harry. He finally removed his hand from her back once they were out of sight from the bookshop, stuffing them into the pockets of his jacket.

'The shrieking shack? Why would I want to see that? Oh well, I suppose it is the most haunted house in Britain, that could be quite interesting to visit, but it's all cordoned off.' Hermione sighed wistfully. Now distracted, she did not protest as the four traipsed through the bustling streets, stopping to stare in each window as they passed with varying levels of interest. The longest they waited was outside Zonkos, where Cassy, Harry and Neville each pressed their faces closely against the glass, ducking and stretching to see each of the displays and even trying to peek past the backing to see the products inside.

'Zonkos' products are banned,' reminded Hermione as Harry glanced towards the door.

'We know,' the three said together.

'It wouldn't hurt to look though, would it?' asked Harry with a smile, but Hermione was having none of it. She gave him a pointed look, which was them directed at both Cassy and Neville respectively, before waving them on down the street, saying: 'Honestly, we got into enough trouble last year, don't make problems for yourselves this one!'

'I think I already have quite a few of those,' muttered Cassy. She glanced at Harry as he squeezed her shoulder.

The streets became narrower and the cobblestones were upturned sporadically across the path. With a slight manoeuvre past a stilled carriage, and a hop over a puddle – which Neville's foot had unfortunately slipped in, earning several curious glances from onlookers at the sound of his groan – the four descended into an alley filled with the alluring scent of baked treats. There were many pales signs, unlike the shops on the highstreet, with striped _ of pastel and white to offset the bold letters that curved across them. They were little tea shops, nothing as grand as Rosmerta's and none sold as many delightful sweets as Honeydukes, but the four strolled by leisurely, taking their time to peer in each window, to see, unsurprisingly, that many of the occupants were older, having presumably taken refuge from the bustle of Hogwarts' students.

'This is quaint,' said Hermione. 'I wonder how far out we are. I've never heard anyone mention this place before.'

'I don't suppose we would have, considering we only really spoke to Fred and George. I can't imagine they'd ever be here, it's not exactly the _liveliest _of places,' said Harry.

'I'd bet they could make it lively though,' added Neville with a grin.

Hermione snorted and Cassy and Harry smiled at the idea of the little alley being set alight with laughter and sparks of colour. Then, as they laughed louder with Harry staggering to the side from the force of Cassy's shove, they fell silent. Abruptly, but in perfect timing with the rest of the people.

A shadow, thin and long, lighter patches bleed across the ground; a familiar form to which Harry felt his eyes widening to. The hunched form of a Dementor hung in the air, creating a vacuum of people as they fled. Others, the ones further away, and those with less sense, stood stock still, as if the creature could not possibly locate them without a sound to follow. Blind as they were, the faceless form turned towards them. It drifted and circled slowly.

'Oy,' came a low whisper, although very audible in the silent street. Three of the four friends turned immediately, but Harry was more reluctant, only inclining his head towards the portly man in the doorway. 'You kids, get in here. It's not safe.'

Hermione's arm instinctively tugged on Harry's sleeve, dragging him into the tiny café, leaving Cassy and Neville to follow.

A second and third Dementor had joined the first. Even through the lettered window, the man flinched as one turned its head towards them.

'Nasty things,' he muttered. 'Simply dreadful to send such monsters here, all to look for that Black fellow.' The man huffed and turned to his wife, who twittered behind the counter, fingering a teapot.

'Yes, they a- Harold, what are they doing?' she all but shrieked.

Cassy stared through the glass, eyeing the icy patch in the centre carefully. It was expanding, growing as he Dementor pressed closer; it grew until the Dementor was no more than a blurry form on the other side – increasing or decreasing the intimidation of it, Cassy could not decide -, with the exception of its bony hand that had been placed on the surface.

'D-does it know we're here?' cried Neville in a whisper, his voice cracking slightly.

Hermione shook her head slowly, but it was clear she knew no more than the rest of them. A glance was sparred to the couple behind, then to the other few occupants of the shop, yet no one offered an answer – if they had heard Neville speak at all. They too were focused on the distorted Dementor, who was slowly making its way across the length of the window.

The faintest of cracks shot through the silence like a firework, several people jumping at the sound of Harry's foot shifting forward. He said nothing, his wand out ready, when Cassy lay her hand on his forearm to push it back to his side. Her own was was drawn too.

As the long-fingered hand retracted from the pane, under her grip Cassy felt Harry tense, but nothing came of it. Just as slowly as the Dementors appeared, they departed with a seemingly reluctant retraction to the sky.

There was silence for a moment, before Hermione whispered, 'Do you think they're gone?'

Once more without a word, Harry strode to the door, unbolting it and stepped out into the empty street. Hesitantly, he took a few more until he stood in the centre. Cassy, Neville and Hermione were by his side, each looking towards the doors that were beginning to open. Only then Cassy looked to Harry, taking in the lines on his forehead with grievance.

Leaning in close to Neville and Hermione, she whispered something in their ears. The street was only half-filled with half-hearted murmurs, yet Harry could not make sense of it. He turned just in time to see the two nod their heads at Cassy and smile at him, before departing with small waves towards the odd florist Neville had so dearly wished to visit and Harry had learnt to be wary of. He looked down at Cassy with questioning eyes.

She smiled back at him gently. Tugging on his wrist, she pulled him along with her, until he fell into step and they walked down the hushed street side by side, towards a location neither was entirely sure of.

'That's the third time that's happened since September!' growled an old man, broom in hand.

'They jus' swoop down all ove' the place, scared the living daylights out of my li'le Mary the other week,' stated a woman loudly to another, only a few steps away from the man.

Similar murmurs echoed as Cassy and Harry passed. Each resident had something to say and their complaints only grew in volume as they realised this.

'All because of that damn Sirius Black!' Cassy jumped slightly at a crash. What is was, she did not know for she dared not turn and see, but the man's curse caused a twinge in her stomach that she had successfully pushed aside in the past few weeks. Outwardly, she did not visibly respond; she only looked up to smile lightly to Harry, who was watching her intensely.

'Let's go to Zonko's,' she said cheerfully.

Harry grinned.

* * *

An hour later, the two were seated around on the the little circular tables in the Hogs Head, with two tankards of Butterbear and a paper bag filled with that they would later say was definitely not Zonko products. Despite the somewhat chilly weather, the Hogs Head was not too crowded, nor too empty that Cassy and Harry felt they could not chat openly, or even rummage through the bag and extract items to read the somewhat vague instructions on that packaging.

'What's that even supposed to mean?' asked Harry between sips of his drink. 'It's practically telling you you won't know what it does until you've set it off.'

'Curiosity is one the the best ways to get a person to respond,' said Cassy playfully. 'Oh yes, I was going to ask you at breakfast, but Ron's bizarre swimming story distracted me, have you have a chance to read over the papers I gave you?'

'The first page – I don't have a lot of time, okay? Quidditch has started up again.'

Cassy looked on with raised eyebrows. 'No time, no time, you never have any time. Perhaps you should fire your secretary, for they organise your schedule very poorly.'

'I would fire myself, but I've grown too attached. On the other hand, if you would like to take up that position, you are welcome.'

'I am already trying to teach you Wizarding law, Harry, what makes you think I have time?' asked Cassy with a smile.

'You have enough time to study to beat Hermione in the Charms test,' he said pointedly.

'She was becoming too arrogant after the Astronomy quiz. It does not matter if I come from a family named after the stars, I retain my right to not be half-Centure.'

Harry laughed, while he moved the bag from the table. A small box remained in his hands, twisting between his fingers as he slowly began reading the bright, curving writing that extended to every side. It read: _Roxes – the incredible transforming ball. _

'Fun for every occasion,' said Harry, repeating the tiny letters on the underside of the box to Cassy.

'So what does it actually do?' she asked and Harry merely shrugged. The box of rocks were passed to Cassy and Harry delved his hand into the paper bag for another item. 'They just look like little pebbles.'

With a glance, he nodded in agreement before taking one and putting it on the table in front of him for later inspection. The other half of his attention was focused on pulling a long tube that seemed four times too long from the bag. Jiggling it free from the tightly packed bag, a yellow glint caught his eye. It was a lone cube, shiny and smooth and nothing like what he had picked up in the shop. The tube jutted to the floor, resting Harry's weight on his as he bent over to reach deeper.

'Careful now,' Cassy said eyeing him with a lowered head. 'It would be a shame if you were to... trip.'

With a tremendous crash, Harry hit the floor, scattering out the contents of the bag in a brilliant show of colour. Cassy let out a dramatic gasp and pulled her leg back to perch on the supporting bar of her stool. 'I told you.'

With a huff, Harry turned to scowl at her before swiftly bringing his leg around in a sweeping arch to hit the wooden leg beneath her. Cassy jolted, grasping the table suddenly with a cocky smirk she leant over the table to show him. However, as she did, it became apparent that something was not quite right.

'Harry,' she said, 'what is that doing?'

Harry turned around to notice the yellow cube shivering as if caught in a particularly bad snow drift. It's shape began to soften and expand, shaking all the while.

'I don't know,' he mumbled back, gathering everything back together, but leaving the cube well enough alone. Cassy joined him, peering around his shoulders.

'It is not doing much,' she commented.

'Don't sound so disappointed,' he replied. Passing the bag to Cassy, Harry took a step forward and gingerly looked around. Any interest from his initial tumble had gone, if there ever was any, and he looked back at Cassy, who nodded and urged him forward eagerly. Gently, Harry nudged the jiggling shape with his foot.

A burst of colour – yellow, met with a burning in their eyes and throats; coughs erupted around them and soon the room was filled. Instinctively, Cassy dropped to crouch on the floor. Her back was against the smoking mass, with her free hand conflicted between rubbing her eyes and covering her mouth. She gasped, mouth like fire with a raw burning that reached the very depth of her lungs. Then, as if from nowhere, a voice muttered in her ear, 'C'mon, quick.'

A cloak was stuffed between the crook of her occupied arm and she was wretched from the ground into the cooling afternoon air. Next to her Harry breathed desperately, mirroring her hunched position for a second, before the two took of at a run straight through the centre of town. The slid into a little alley.

'W-what was... tha-at?' he asked, slipping down the wall.

Cassy shook her head after collapsing next to him, letting out a breathy denial of knowledge. Her lungs cleared with a deep breath, and she looked over to Harry, who was still wheezing, having received a face-full of whatever the gas had been. She paused, eyes wide. Harry was canary yellow. She did not even look away as she snorted at the absurdity, caught somewhere between disbelief and great amusement.

'You're yellow,' said Harry as she caught his attention.

'You should look at yourself.'

They stared at each other for a moment before bubbling laughter echoed through the ally and their breath was taken once more. They clutched their stomachs and wiped their eyes, trying desperately to calm themselves before someone caught sight, knowing how ridiculous the pair must have looked.

Cassy was covered, the back of her coat only fairing slightly better than the front, with hair speckled and cheeks flushed, turning them an obscure orange with the effort of laughing. Her right hand, which had been shielded from the vapour by clutching the bag, began to brush the colour off. Only it had little success. The colour was stained.

Yellow eventually rinsed down across the stone and the pair stood sopping wet. Scourgifing Harry's sleeve had proved more effective than trying to banish the colour, only leaving them with the small issue of their unmanageably heavy clothing as a result. They sat chilled in the autumn air for a good deal of time, occasionally igniting tiny flames with the tips of their wands to quicken the process. With the main street so close, they dared not draw attention to themselves to be caught doing magic outside of Hogwarts, even on grounds so close. Even if they were not expelled, and Cassy had joked Harry had no worry here as the Golden Boy, they would certainly be banned from Hogsmead with a terms worth of detentions to top it off. Perhaps they would have to borrow that map.

The Sun was getting lower in the sky and the bustle of the street was increasing slowly as it people began to venture out in search of a paid meal in one of the many pubs. Neither Cassy nor Harry paid any mind to this, barely registering it as they spoke. Laughing loudly, Cassy pulled at Harry's arm.

'Just let me have a look!' she demanded playfully.

'Sorry, the box clearly says it is not for girls,' replied Harry seriously.

'Since when have you followed instructions?'

'I'm only in trouble when you make me be.'

Pausing mid-movement, Cassy stared in shock. 'How dare you!' she cried indignantly. Her weight was pushed forward as her arms pried Harry's from behind his back. 'Name one time I have got you into trouble. Name _one_!'

With a grin Harry twisted his shoulder into the crook of her arm, causing it to bend and Cassy to fall forward. She smacked his arm and with a heaving sign leant back onto her calves.

'You can't name one,' she said blandly.

'I can,' insisted Harry, stuffing the little box into his pocket. He laughed as Cassy raised and eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips. It did not quite have the same no-nonsense feel to it as she sat on the ground, cheeks flushed from laughing and a faint yellow band at her hair line. He put a hand across her forehead and turned her face to one side. With the other he rubbed at her temple.

'Is there still - ?' began Cassy.

'You can stop right there, we don't want to see that go any farther,' came a voice from over her shoulder.

Both of their heads whipped around to see a pair of identical smiles. Fred and George leant on a wall each, paper bags at their feet.

'We never expected you to be so quick moving, Harry,' chimed George.

'Yeah, calm down, mate. You're only thirteen.'

The two third-years stared in horror. Harry blustered and Cassy simply listened in dumb shock, all too aware of the burning that was beginning to spread to her ears. Her head ducked as Fred and George struggled to keep their voices steady and their sniggers turned into a wave of laughter. Next to her Harry was the same shade of unflattering pink.

'No, I wasn't- I wouldn't- she just...' he stumbled, changing his sentence every few words in an attempt to think of something other than the fact he had been trying to rub yellow dye from her face, which they just so happened to be covered in after blowing up a pub. Yeah, Harry thought, that would be a brilliant thing to tell the two.

'What are you two doing here anyway?' he asked.

'Us? We could ask what you two are doing in an alley ourselves,' retorted Fred. 'Besides snogging.'

'You didn't.'

'We are now.'

'Nothing,' said Cassy, flattening the hem of her floral dress. 'We are doing nothing, except heading back up to the castle for dinner.' A pointed look was sent down at Harry, who scrambled to collect their things before jumping up beside her.

'Is that so?' said George. The pair swooped to grab their bags in tandem.

Without replying, Cassy strode out of the alley with Harry at her side. Her eyes were kept straight ahead, not once looking back at the twins who she knew were following them back. There was still a faint burning in her cheeks.

* * *

The four of them passed Crookshanks as they entered the castle. He barely stopped to brush against Cassy's legs before sprinting off through the long grass and down the sloping hill. They paid him no mind, continuing up to the common room. Neville had commented on their sheepish expressions the moment they stepped through the portrait hole, and although Cassy and Harry were quick to shrug it off, the looming grins of Fred and George could not be ignored.

Blocking out the incredibly fictitious retelling of the day by the twins – the part that involved Harry and Cassy sounded more as though it had come straight from a Muggle television show than real life – the two retreated to their separate dormitories to deposit their bags and coats before seating themselves at their usual table. Neville and Hermione were already there, halting their conversation and dragging them into a new one.

'I thought we were going to meet up again?' said Neville.

'We were, but we lost track of time,' said Harry.

'We've heard all about that!' Neville grinned as Harry rolled his eyes and Cassy's mouth formed a thin line.

As the topic changed, it became apparent that the dim lighting in the common room was very fortunate for a change. The flickering flames of the candles overhead failed to show the faint yellow lines that Cassy still had at her hair line, or the stain Harry had missed on the back of his collar. Hermione frowned as she spoke of the aftermath of the incident. She and Neville had been passing by and had been drawn near by people with canary-yellow faces, spluttering and huffing outside of the gently smoking Hogs Head.

'Apparently no one knows what it was, but they know where it was set off. The floor is scorched. It looks as if a bomb hit it! It will be a miracle if that ever comes off. I heard Madam Rosemerta wants those responsible to scrub it by hand. She was ever so furious.'

Without moving more than her eyes, Cassy looked towards Harry. He was already staring at her, his face slightly sheepish and with a thumb tapping against the table top.

'So,' said Cassy conversationally, 'they have absolutely no idea? None at all?'

Hermione shook her head. 'It was shortly after the lunchtime rush, so there were enough people in there to see, but not few enough for anyone to actually pay attention to who else was there.'

'That's a shame,' said Harry.

'Yes, such a shame,' agreed Cassy.

'Those responsible should make it up to Rosmerta.'

Cassy shot Harry an intense stare, urging him not to dig a hole. Fortunately, neither Neville nor Hermione had noticed Harry's over-enthusiasm. If they had, they had mistook it for an impassioned speech of which they wholly agreed with. Cassy wondered how long it would be until the other's found out. Perhaps they would wait for the gossip to die down and with it hopefully Hermione's fiery sense of justice, or maybe hope for the best at the next convenient moment, as the former was most likely never going to happen. They would send Rosemerta a card first.

While the matter was not forgotten, it was pushed backwards as everyone bustled down to the Halloween feast. There were huge pumpkins loitering in the upper areas, floating between the rafters and against the bewitched stormy sky that did not reflect the present weather for once. Great orange streamers twisted and turned on the walls, live bats attached themselves to the stone walls and fluttered from one corner to another, occasionally landing in some of the table dishes with a spectacular splat. The tables were filled to the brim with all sorts of sweet treats and odd looking common foods – the spaghetti was pink and short, piled together to look unappetisingly like worms, or pies with sinister faces carved into the surface.

Cassy picked at items, but did not eat much. She, like many others up and down the hall, was saving space for the toffee apples, pumpkin pies, and shiny black beetles that she later decided not to try and put them on Ron's plate instead. He let out a shriek when he uncovered one she had poked deep into his apple pie and Cassy let out a roar of delight as the forkful of dessert was hurled at Dean. Even the teachers looked delighted, beaming smiles on each of their faces.

'Snape's being more of a miserable git that ever today,' commented Harry. 'He won't stop glancing at Lupin – look.'

All the teachers looked delighted with the exception of Professor Snape, Cassy noted and amended, not having expected much from the gloomy man anyway.

Professor Snape was indeed looking at Professor Lupin often, with a sneer that grew wider as their head of house giggled into one hand and smacked Professor Lupin's arm with the other. Professor Lupin shrugged and grinned at Hagrid, who through down his goblet with a booming laugh.

'Since when is Snape ever happy?' asked Neville cheerfully. 'He's probably just upset because Lupin isn't.'

Dinner soon ended and everyone rose from their seats slowly. A merry chatter filled each staircase as students filed back to their respective common rooms. Their mood was so grand that when Draco heckled Harry on the way out of the Great Hall Cassy did not even think to reprimand him for tripping her cousin up. Instead she grinned and turned her head away, catching Hermione's amused eye as she did.

'That is the first good Halloween I've every had!' announced Harry with a shining smile while they slowed to join the cue of those waiting to enter the common room. After a short moment, Harry craned his neck, frowning.

Percy Weasley pushed passed, shouting at the crowd to move aside and flashing his Head Boy badge, although no one was looking at him. Watching him, Ron gave a snort that suddenly became very audible. A silence descended in a ripple from the front backwards, catching stragglers as everyone became very uneasy although most could not see what was occurring.

'Ron, Dean,' hissed Ginny, 'you're both tall, can you see what's going on?'

There was a slight hesitation, then Dean replied: 'Something wrong with the portrait. The Fat Lady's gone and... and it looks like someone's slashed the canvas!'

The students of Gryffindor huddled at the sides of the corridor when Professor Dumbledore made himself known. He swept passed easily and the gangway created quickly filled back in. Cassy, being small and slender, dodged between the people flooding back in and managed to worm her way close enough to see the painting for herself. She had just enough time to see before being pushed aside by Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape, who rushed to the Headmaster's side.

'The Fat Lady is gone,' Professor Dumbledore announced at a distance. 'We need every painting to search-'

There was a loud cackle. 'Good luck with that,' cried Peeves the poltergeist from above the students. 'She's a horrible mess. I would be surprised if you find her before next Thursday. Running in and out off all sorts of portraits, she is.' He sounded awfully chuffed in his description, as though he could not think of a better site to see that evening.

Cassy pushed her way back to her friends.

Peeves let out a dramatic sigh, gazing between the teachers and students before floating to rest a translucent hand on the frame of the Fat Lady's portrait. 'She tried to send him away. Honestly, it was _quite_ a valiant effort. I don't know many who would do that to him. He's not the easiest going fellow, that Sirius Black.'

There was a long strained silence until the students burst to life. Panicked rambling erupted like wildfire down the corridor and hysterical shrieks from some of the girls closest to the front. People began trying to push backwards from the portrait, while Harry pushed forward with Neville at his side. They stared intensely at the long slashes and scatter debris.

At the same moment, Cassy had let herself be pulled backwards by the crowd. Elbows and shoulders rammed into her, but she hardly registered it at all. Why was he here? She did not understand at all and the dull burning of anxiety consumed her thoughts so much that she did not realise she had been pushed to the wall until Professor Dumbledore's booming voice called everyone back into line.

'I want you all to go down to the Great Hall immediately. You are to do so calmly and quietly.' His tone left no room for disobedience and people slowly began to drag their feet in the direction of the lower staircases.

Cassy looked towards the hand on her shoulder and followed it up to meet Dean's concerned smile.

'You okay?' he asked.

'Yes,' she said, uneasily.

His eyes softened and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. It did not work. She was thankful that no one was bothering to look at her at that moment, she was relieved that the scathing expressions and the faces of suspicion that were sure to come were not already there, fore she wanted nothing more than to escape. Her feet wanted to run in any direction that her head gave, although it was not giving any at all through the haze of questions and Cassy found herself being pushed reluctantly towards the Great Hall. Hermione was at her side, wringing her hands anxiously, while Neville bit his lip and swung his head so quickly around around corner that a crack was almost expected. Harry was more relaxed, allowing himself to be herded along easily enough, if with some anticipation as to what was going to happen next.

Once in the dining hall, the tables were cleared to either side and hundred of plush purple sleeping bags lined the floor. The Gryffindors rushed to grab one each as the other houses soon began filing in, bemused at the sight. Nothing more was said to them apart from it being for their own well-being, so, naturally, as soon as the doors slid closed the hall burst into excited chatter that Percy Weasley struggled to contain.

Cassy, Harry, Neville and Hermione placed their sleeping bags over to a far side, wedging Cassy in the middle of them. Ginny returned to their side soon after, having brought Luna over with a brief run-down of what had happened. The peculiar girl said nothing of it and Cassy was glad for it.

'I wonder why on earth he is at the castle,' squeaked Neville. He tucked his chin onto his knees and his arms around his shins.

'What could be here that he wants?' said Ginny.

Hermione's eyes travelled over to Cassy, but they did not flick away fast enough.

'Don't be absurd,' growled Cassy with a snarl she had not used in a long time. 'He did not want me born, he would not want the estranged _half-blood_ daughter now. I'm of no use at all.'

Everyone shifted awkwardly. Hermione opened her mouth as to apologise, but the words escaped her and she closed it again with tearful eyes.

'What about Harry?' said Luna in a curious voice. 'Would he not come here for Harry?'

'What do you mean, Luna?' asked Harry, his eyes curious behind his glasses.

Cassy pursed her lips and leant forward suddenly. It made sense, however much she did not want it to.

'Well, he was a supporter of You-Know-Who.' Luna looked between them with her large eyes, waiting for one of them to nod along in acknowledgement.

'You don't think Black would – surely not...' stuttered Hermione.

Luna said nothing and the weight of what she was suggesting began to dawn on them all. Cassy would have liked to think it was far-fetched, another strange comment from a pleasantly strange individual, but given that the common room portrait was slashed, it appeared to be a wholly real motive. Sirius Black, a Death Eater, had broken into the most secure place in Britain to kill the Boy-Who-Lived.

'He had broken out of the highest security prison in the world. To do so now must mean he had a plan, a purpose, right?' said Neville hurriedly. 'Why not do so before?'

'He might not have been able to,' offered Hermione, her lips in a thin line. 'Maybe a circumstance changed, something that meant he could. I mean... if he was after Harry, and I'm not convinced he is, why chose right now? Why not any other year? Why not when Harry was a child?'

'He was in a safe location as a child. No one in the Wizarding world knew where he was, besides a select few,' said Ginny, turning pink as Harry settled his eyes on her.

'It would be a safe bet to assume the Boy-Who-Lived would be in Gryffindor...'muttered Hermione to herself.

'I suppose a loyal follower of You-Know-Who would want to finish what his master started...' chipped in Neville.

'Can you all stop discussing this like I'm not here?' barked Harry.

All of their eyes fell onto him for a second before falling to the floor as they shifted awkwardly once more.

'Look,' said Harry, 'whether he is after me or not... I don't know much about that. It would explain some things, especially why Fudge was so relieved to see me alive after I blew up my aunt-' Luna kept a straight face at this, despite never having heard the story, 'but that doesn't make it true. I'm going to skirt around the castle thinking that some maniac is trying to kill me when he might not be. I can't just assume he is-'

'You also can't just assume he is not,' interrupted Cassy, gloomily. Her voice was low and she looked at Harry intensely from below a dipped brow. 'It would make sense and you know it does. Why here? It is not to see me, I assure you. Rage like that demonstrated on the portrait could not be felt at refusal just to see someone. He is a man that killed thirteen people with one curse, Harry. You should treat him like it and not as a fool.'

Cassy's voice was so low and serious that the other's found themselves hanging on to every word she spoke. However, Harry just scowled.

'I know that. You can't think I don't, but you need to remember that I've faced Voldemort three times now and won every single time. I can look after myself. Plus, who is the wizard Voldemort fears most? Dumbledore. Voldemort's right hand man, or whatever Black is supposed to be, will surely fear him to! There is no safer place than Hogwarts.'

They were discussing a man who had already broken out of Azkaban and into Hogwarts itself once, that did not stand good stead for protection. However, Cassy didn't have the energy to dispute it. Instead, she stared long and hard at him, until a time Neville spoke.

'This is all hypothetical anyway, isn't it?' he said with a loud, false laugh.

'Of course it is, Neville,' said Hermione gently. 'We are just stating 'what-ifs'. No one is after Harry.'

Nothing more was said and they all snuggled down into their sleeping bags. The teachers and prefects continued to prowl the hall, weaving in between groups of students, hushing those that were still awake more than once or twice. For all of Cassy's fatigue, she could not sleep. Her eyes were sore, but her mind refused to slow down and turn off; a slow burn was beginning to build in her chest and stomach. No matter how many times she turned, she was never comfortable and eventually she settled on her side, knees tucked against her chest and hands beside her face. It was not any more pleasing that her other tries, but she shut her eyes tightly in determination to simply _sleep._

The doors of the hall opened once more and Cassy watched though her lashes as Professor Dumbledore strode in, stopping not far from her to speak to Percy Weasley.

* * *

**Long chapter! **

**My muse for the past few weeks has really been down. I know what I want to write and it's all planned out, but the writing itself isn't going so well. I can't seem to get what I want and it's frustrating. I took a week off writing and I'm hoping to start it up again tomorrow. I need to read more of the forth year too so I can plan some more of that before summer is over, but it just takes so long! **

**I don't have much to say about this chapter. I wanted to show them being friends and enjoying each other's company more than having much impact on plot because I just feel as though you don't in the books. I also wanted to reiterate the kind of dynamic the group has. There is mostly plot within it though, so I don't feel as though I've completely wasted my time writing it. **

**Thanks!**


	7. His intentions

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter VII: His intentions**  


There was a familiar shattering of porcelain followed by a huff of irritation from Hermione. Across from her Ron grinned, instructing his knight across the board. He had even let Hermione play as white to give her the advantage. It was a very short-lived one in Cassy's opinion, but she did not know what would annoy her more, Hermione's angry grunts, or if Hermione actually won against the House's best chess player. It only took Cassy a split second to look up from her book to where the pair were sitting on the floor in front of the fire to realise it was definitely the second one. She took a little too much satisfaction at the distaste on Hermione's face.

The book Cassy was reading was angled awkwardly on the arm of the chair, forcing her to twist her body as to be able to both read and please Crookshanks, who had taken up residence on her lap with a stubborn refusal to move at all. The book was Hermione's. It was a muggle one with a detective protagonist in the late nineteenth century who solved many mysteries with the power of deduction; Sherlock Holmes was quickly becoming one of her favourite books and her friend seemed terribly pleased with herself for having introduced her.

'It proves that muggles do invent some great things, even if it is just fiction,' had said Hermione, coupled with a pointed stare.

Another shatter and a hiss of sympathy from Neville. It was followed by a sharp demand of quiet and then another crash, which left Ron sniggering into his hand.

'You can't win at everything, Hermione,' said Ron cheerfully, knowing he only had a few more moves to wrap the game up.

'The look of her face says she thinks she can,' said Harry. He swung his legs up onto the sofa to avoid Hermione's hand that reached out to smack him.

'Another match,' she demanded. 'I've got it figured out now.'

'What's there to figure out? It's chess,' replied Ron, but shrugged and sent his pieces to sort themselves again.

'Your game play. Besides, this chess set isn't mine so it doesn't respond well to me at the moment. I just need a few games to break it in.'

Ron snorted and grinned. 'If you think that's the issue then think again. This isn't my set either, it's Neville's. I was teaching him to play before you came back from the library. I don't have control either, I'm just good.'

Ron was an excellent player and Cassy often considered it a shame that none of his chess tact could materialise in real situations. She smiled as Hermione's piece was shattered straight after it moving.

The free period was relaxing, a nice break from the hectic past few days, but no matter how absorbed Cassy tried to become in the little group there was an over-arching feeling she could not shake. She could feel them all the time – the stares of everyone as she walked, as she sat, even as she lay in bed at night the feeling of a pair of eyes was always on her. It had caused more than a few problems since Halloween. That was not to say everyone was being rude to her, although she did get the occasional remark. Most were silently staring, or whispering behind cupped hands to their friends, thinking she could not see or hear them. What she could not hear she could read, although she tried not to, for watching people's lips had become an unfortunate talent and one that made her insides heavy as she became aware of what people thought of her, or rather, her father, whom she seemed to be inexplicably linked to now.

'Have you never seen someone read before?' came a shout.

Fred and George had came waltzing past, scaring a few first years who quickly ducked their heads. They swung themselves round to either side of Cassy's chair and she had just enough time to move the book before George sat on it.

'Morning,' they greeted everyone in unison. There was a variety of greetings back, a particularly grumpy one from Hermione and a beaming one by Ron.

Being surrounded by people did not always help, Cassy learnt quickly. The company she kept probably got more stares than had she been alone, for what odd friends for the daughter of a Death Eater to keep than blood-traitors, muggle-borns, and the Boy-Who-Lived himself. Not that that stopped them all from flanking her wherever she went. There seemed to be an agreement (one Cassy was not present in, but did not wholly mind) that she cannot be left unattended in the current climate. It was sweet. Cassy appreciated it. However, it was the single most unnecessary and irritating thing anyone had ever done for her.

'Have you had all morning off?' asked Fred.

'Just first and second period,' said Neville; he flipped a card over onto the growing pile on the centre cushion on the sofa. Another was over turned by Harry, who sat at the other end.

'Lucky,' sighed George. 'We've been working hard all morning, haven't we, Forge?'

'Of course, Gred! Life is hard when you are doing your O. ,' said Fred miserably.

'Liars,' everyone chimed together in a dull tone.

Fred and George looked aghast, hands over their hearts in mock shock. They were not paid the slightest bit of attention for it so they began to find other ways to amuse themselves. It quickly descended to a level of irritating Cassy by reading lines out of her book at random over her shoulder. They would add new lines of dialogue in high voices and it did not take them long to invent long, rambling speeches of envy and lust that while obviously had no place to Cassy or Hermione, succeeded in getting strange looks from everyone else.

Harry grinned at Cassy as she shot him an exasperated look. She made no move to push Fred and George away, but she clearly wanted them gone, much like many things at that time. After watching her for a moment – and missing the call of 'snap!' from Neville and a puff of smoke from the deck of cards – he flicked his attention around the room. People were still watching them, watching Cassy, from behind their books and between their fingers as if they had never quite seen anyone like her. There was a familiar bubble of annoyance, a mild sort that Harry felt every September when the new first years would turn and gape at him, which easily turned from amusing to frustrating when they had not stopped two weeks later. It had been a week all ready and these people _knew_ Cassy.

What was undoubtedly the worst moment since the incident was when Hermione came skittering down the stairwell to the girls' dormitory, ringing her hands and asking Neville or Harry to speak to Cassy. It was the second night that they had slept in their beds since and it was hardly just fortune that the pair were still awake. No one could sleep well at all. They all expected Black to come bursting through the portrait whole and murder them where they slept, and nerves were beginning to fray.

'I'm not saying she has to go,' protested Lavender Brown loudly. 'I'm just saying she makes me uncomfortable.'

'You needn't have said anything at all!' shrieked Hermione.

By the time Professor McGonagall had arrived the fight had moved downstairs and half of Gryffindor was watching.

'I can't sleep. I keep thinking he'll be back. How did he even know were our common room was?' added Patil.

'That had nothing to do with me,' said Cassy lowly to the pairs of eyes that dared to turn her way. She did not mention that her father had been in Gryffindor himself knowing it would only hurt her own defence. Instead she stood by the fire, arms crossed and a face like thunder that deterred anyone from even considering to speak to her. It was the same face she had when she stalked back upstairs after Professor McGonagall had given everyone a stern warning; get along or get out. Anyone not behaving will see themselves sleeping in an empty classroom on the third floor. Even if it was no longer restricted, people still hated to go down there.

Harry was pulled out of this thoughts when Neville waved a hand in front of his face.

'Are you all right?' he asked. 'You've been staring at that girl so long she's moved tables.'

'Oh, no, I just... I was thinking, I guess,' said Harry blurredly. Shaking his head he turned back to see Cassy had shut her book and moved Crookshanks onto Fred, who did not look wholly comfortable with the cat being on him. George was sniggering and Cassy had her lips pierced in something of a smug annoyance.

'Cass,' he called loudly, 'feel like going for a walk? I feel like going to visit Hagrid and trying some of his rock cakes. Coming Neville?'

Neville looked sick at the idea, but nodded anyway. By the time had stood up Cassy had all ready deposited her book at Hermione's side with a call to take it upstairs for her and was half way out the common room. Harry and Neville caught up with a run and the portrait swung shut behind them with a satisfying thud.

'We're not really going to see Hagrid to have cake, are we?' said Neville with a groan. His stomach ached just thinking about it, fingers burying into the thick green wool of his jumper as he clutched his middle.

'Of course not,' said Cassy brightly.

'We're going to the kitchens,' said Harry.

'Oh, good,' sighed Neville in relief.

Harry laughed, nudging his shoulder with his own before they began their descent towards the Hufflepuff common room. They spoke idly, glad to be away from everything and everyone for a moment. It was oddly like their first year and their pointless wanderings, however, it did not feel quite right without Hermione, who they were glad had become such a permanent fixture. Although, Neville reminded them, she had been less than pleased when she had last visited the kitchens.

'I swear by fifth year she will have started a group or a petition or something, I'm telling you,' said Neville.

'How popular do you reckon that will be? Is there much of an anti-house-elf call in society?' asked Harry jovially, despite the topic.

'No,' scoffed Cassy, still smiling. 'She will be lucky if she can get ten members foolish enough... wait, never mind that will probably be us. She will pressure is into it.'

'As her friend's we can't say no,' said Harry. He shrugged and he and Neville laughed loudly past a classroom of sixth year students as Cassy's nose scrunched.

'She better not make badges,' she grumbled.

The staircase shifted towards them and they plodded down in lazily, waiting at the bottom for the connecting one to swing around to them.

'Afraid it will ruin your reputation?'said Harry.

'Reputation?' repeated Cassy. She did not think that Draco would go near her again if he saw her wearing any such emblem of such liberal thinking. 'I would not agree with any such club if she were to make one. The house-elves tend to be very happy doing what they do, unless they are ill treated. That is the only thing I do not agree with.'

'But they're kinda like slaves. They're not paid or anything.' Harry looked down at her curiously, but Cassy just raised an eyebrow.

'They do not wish to be paid. They think it is insulting, which is probably why we were ushered out so quickly when she started to fuss.'

There was a short pause, then: 'You know you'll end up joining whatever you think, right?'

Cassy sighed loudly. She looked away and smiled as Harry and Neville chortled. It was true. Try as she might she would most likely be coerced into joining one way or another.

There was a loud huff behind them punctuated with a gentle, periodic tapping of what could only be a foot. They hushed their laughter and turned around, still smiling as they greeted Professor McGonagall, who did not appear to be nearly as amused. In fact, she looked between them with an eye that Alphard often did to Cassy when he knew she had done something she should not have but he did not know what yet, or had any way to prove it. Harry and Neville looked abashed, while Cassy stared on gleefully, being quite used to the expression by then.

Professor McGonagall simply shook her head and turned pointedly to Harry. 'Mr. Potter, a word, if you please.'

'Oh, sure,' said Harry. As he followed her up the marble staircases towards her office, he discretely turned to pull an enquiring face at Cassy and Neville, who stared back equally unknowingly. They waited until he was out of sight before continuing down to the kitchens, assuming Harry will meet them there.

Neville tickled the pear and the portrait swung aside to reveal the busy kitchen. The elves were running around stacking the many plates and goblets into neat piles under the counters, while others had all ready begun cooking lunch. Some turned around at the sound of the portrait opening, letting out a cry of delight at the visitors, while others, the elder ones who had grown quite used to the occasional visitor, continued their work as if the pair were not there at all.

There was a particularly loud squeal and before Cassy could turn her head towards the sound there was a small body attached to the hem of her crisp white dress.

'Hello, Plum,' greeted Cassy knowingly. Her hand automatically went to the top of her elf's head, patting it in a patronising manner that Plumb seemed to enjoy.

'I wondered if Miss was going to visit,' said Plum cheerfully. She turned to Neville and greeted him with a handshake, apparently approaching him in the same way she had Harry – fully enthusiasm and little differentiation between how to interact with Cassy and her friends. Breathing out a greeting, Neville pulled his hand away with some effort before Plum let out a nonsensical garble of excited words and skipped speedily to the large island in the centre of the floor. Plates were loudly pulled from the stacks and a bowl was whisked across to her with a click of her fingers.

'You will love it, Miss,' she announced over the noise of the other elves.

'What is she making?' muttered Neville in Cassy's ear.

'I have no idea. All I caught was that there were some fantastic new recipes she wants to show me and that I will undoubtedly love them. That means she is most likely making us a cake of some form. I assume that the other elves have been sharing some of their family treats with her,' said Cassy. She paused for a moment and watched as Plum barked orders at a larger, gangly elf as he passed. 'I asked her to come here to give her something to do. There was no point in her waiting at home, Alphard does not need two house-elves. Well, we have never needed two, but there is even less sense when I am away. I had hoped she could be of use here. She likes having things to do and Merlin knows she likes to chat.'

Neville smiled gently. 'You're very fond of her.'

Cassy nodded absently, smiling a bit as Plum glanced over to check she was still watching. A frown flickered over her face for a moment, but as soon as Neville noticed the look was gone again and Cassy had returned to looking content. He stared only for a moment longer.

'We have a house-elf too,' he said. 'He's really old now, known him since I could remember. My Gran got him as a wedding present from my Granddad's parents. Apparently he was the son of their own house-elf. He doesn't speak much, just does chores and stuff.'

'Plum is one of a kind. She drives Draco up the wall with how relaxed she is with me. Not at all like Dobby and his family were, but I have had her since I was a child and as Alphard was not around too much there was never much he could do to change how she was,' said Cassy cheerfully.

'Why did you get Plum if you didn't need a second elf?' asked Neville curiously.

'Ah, well-' Cassy paused as the portrait swung aside and Harry stepped in. She turned to greet him, but her words fell flat at the sight of his pale face and deep frown. He looked back at her for a moment and then to Neville before moving to let the portrait swing shut again.

'Harry?' asked Neville tentatively.

'What happened?' enquired Cassy, fixing him with a soft frown.

Harry was silent for a moment before muttering: 'I'm _not_ going to get murdered this year.'

'Pardon?' asked Cassy at the same time Neville blurted, 'What?'.

Instead of reply immediately, Harry moved to lean against the counter and ruffled his hair with one hand while looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Eventually, he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, exhaling loudly through his mouth.

'McGonagall called me in because she wanted to tell me something,' be began bitterly. 'Something someone could have told me a lot earlier in the year. People seem to think I don't have a right to know though, they think it might... upset me, but now I'm just angry because _someone_ should have said _something_.

'McGonagall shut me in her office, made me take a seat in front of her desk and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I had done wrong, but she began this preprepared speech about what's best for me and then...' Harry broke off for a moment, sliding his eyes over to Cassy and Neville. There was a certain burning in them, a distant look of contempt coupled with a much closer, larger feeling of confusion that was shown in the way Harry shifted dully where he stood, unable to stand still but too occupied to move coherently.

Cassy took a step closer, almost reaching out to put a hand on his arm, yet halted before it moved from her side. Harry had shut his eyes again, scrunching them this time and shaking his head.

His voice came out stronger than he looked. 'Luna was right. He escaped from Azkaban to try and kill me.'

Suffocating silence descended so quickly it was as if someone had flicked a switch.

Cassy could not think of what to say - if there was anything at all she could say. A chill settled through her bones that made them heavy, weighing her down as her mind whiled and soared distantly. She barely knew it was happening. What she could feel was a faint burn in her eyes and a painful throb of her heart as the words settled in. Then, as if receiving a sharp slap across her cheek, the shock gave way to simple grief and she found her tongue again. She turned to him, face neutral.

'I am sorry, Harry,' she said steadily. 'I am so sorry.'

There was nothing she could do about it; it was not her fault. She had not known. She did not know anything at all. That thought brought a slow clawing guilt.

Harry turned to her with a smile, strained, but honest. 'You have nothing to be sorry for.'

She held his eyes for a moment and then they dropped to the floor.

'I would have just liked someone to tell me before, you know? It's kind of important,' he said with a sigh.

The house-elves who had been closest had dispersed very quickly. They scampered to the other end of the kitchen, leaving Plum standing on her stall awkwardly, with drooped ears and her face angled away as to suggest she had heard nothing at all.

'So, what does this mean?' said Neville quietly. His face was crinkled in worry, eyes flicking between both his friends equally.

'Nothing,' said Harry firmly. 'It means nothing. There is no safer place than Hogwarts. So what if he got in once? He couldn't make it past the Fat Lady and no one was even in at the time. He could can't have thought it out well at all if he chose then to attack. He doesn't know what he's doing, but we do. There are dementors out there combing the grounds for him and teachers inside waiting for the drop of a hat to launch into action. Don't forget who our headmaster is either! Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort was ever afraid of. His right-hand-man will feel that fear a hundred times more. We'll be ready no matter what happens.'

Neville sniffed and nodded fiercely.

'Nice speech,' said Cassy softly; her arms were folded over her stomach.

'Thanks,' said Harry brightly, 'planned it out on the way down here.'

Cassy let out a puff of air and turned her face away to hide her slight smile. In return, Harry grinned and winked at Neville, making him laugh loudly in the silenced kitchen.

* * *

The cake Plum cooked was indeed delicious – if utterly sickly midway – and the three friends soon bid farewell to the house-elves. The little creatures waved enthusiastically, cheerfully bidding good-byes and calls to return soon and with that Cassy, Harry and Neville made their way to the great hall for lunch. They dropped down in spaces around Hermione, who had all ready began picking apart a sandwich.

There was no talk of Sirius Black over lunch, not even a few minutes to inform Hermione. Instead, they joked, teasing Hermione for her losses to Ron, whom she claimed she had come very close to beating on the last match before he called it a day. It was if the guilt and the shock of the news had vanished from their minds entirely with Harry's words.

The four trooped up to Professor Lupin's office towards the middle of lunch. Not a single member of staff seemed to look over at the empty seat at their table and enquire where he may have been, it was if none of them noticed at all. Harry had frowned in frustration at the sight, needing to speak to him before Oliver Wood pinned him down to talk once more of their upcoming Quidditch match. However, as they arrived it became very apparent he was not present. An empty goblet sat on his desk next to sprawling piles of paperwork, some of which had fluttered onto the floor at some point.

'I never pictured Professor Lupin to be the messy sort. I thought he was just poor,' said Neville.

'Neville!' reprimanded Hermione sharply.

'No, that's not – I didn't mean it – oh, whatever. You know exactly what I mean,' he said, shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

'He looks as if he left in a hurry,' said Harry.

'I hope he's okay,' fussed Hermione. 'He's been looking ill for a while now.'

'Has he?' asked Neville, raising his eyebrows as he flicked through Lupin's documents.

'I have noticed too,' said Cassy. She lifted the goblet off his desk and peered inside. It was completely empty, bar a crusty grey substance that strongly resembled ash in colour. She sniffed the goblet curiously.

'What on Earth are you doing?' said Harry, his face caught somewhere between laughter and disgust.

'Just – just wondering what potion he had taken,' she mumbled, cursing herself inwardly. The goblet was dropped back onto the desk. Cassy placed her hands on her hips as if she had done nothing odd at all and breathed deeply, trying to get rid the smell of burning plastic.

'What is it then?' he asked.

'I have no idea. It's not a normal pepper-up potion, I can tell you that.'

They prodded around for a few more minutes before Harry relented. Waving good-bye he descended towards the great hall for his meeting, looking dubious at the claims that the lesson might be cancelled if Professor Lupin was unwell.

'Knowing my luck...' he muttered as he went.

Cassy had learnt early in their friendship that Harry was a boy with extraordinary luck. He lived through scenarios that should have killed him and he continued on with life as though the events had not sunken into his brain at all. However, she was also aware of times when that luck turned unfavourably sour and today, she thought as she watched Professor Snape write in big, curling letters on the chalk board, was one of those days.

Professor Lupin was ill, or so they gathered when Professor Snape waltzed into the classroom without a simple message to dismiss them. The idea of asking him played on everyone's minds, yet with a few stares shared the idea was squashed because no one wanted to be the one under fire that early on in the lesson.

So when Harry strode in ten minutes late, he found himself rudely directed to the empty seat next to Hermione and docked ten points.

'But, Sir, I-'

'Quiet, Potter, you've disrupted the class enough all ready. Do your classmates a favour and hold your tongue so they don't become any more behind than you have all all ready fallen,' came Professor Snape's sharp reply.

Harry did bite his tongue and pulled a sour face that Cassy could envision well in her head from where she sat in front of him.

Professor Snape whirled back to the blackboard for a moment to finish his writing and then swiftly waved his wand to the blank board next it. It flipped over to reveal a large image of a pained man, unclothed and hunched, with the small ridged of his spine drawn protruding from his back.

'I don't suppose any of you will recognise what this diagram depicts,' said Professor Snape slowly. 'It's a pity really...'

Hermione had her hand up already and Cassy had cocked her head to the side in interest. She knew what it was, it was not hard to imagine, especially with the looping runes that surrounded the man in a circle. There was no raised hand from her, however, and Hermione was waving her high enough for everyone to have seen.

Professor Snape never called on her though. He never called on her for the next question either, nor the next, but antagonised her with exceedingly dull enquiries that he knew she would be dying to answer. When she did, Hermione found herself almost in tears and a rather furious collection of Gryffindor's surrounding her.

'Where is Professor Lupin?' ground out Harry. His teeth were clenched tightly as he tried not to scowl openly at Professor Snape.

'We've been through this, Potter. Lupin is ill and cannot teach,' replied Professor Snape slowly, as if Harry had taken one to many bludgers to the head.

'And what's wrong with him?'

'Nothing too life threatening,' there was a slight pause and then, 'for him. And nothing that is your concern at this present moment. Ten points for inappropriate questions, Mr. Potter. Now...' Professor Snape continued on with the lesson, asking questions he did not accept answers for and rooting through Professor Lupin's marked papers, criticising them. Suddenly, he turned to the class, moments before the bell.

'So, I will ask again, what are the main ways to identify a werewolf? Still no answer? Well, this is very poor.'

It was not that no one had learnt anything, but rather they sat in an irritable silence, refusing to rise to his remarks any longer no matter what the form.

'Fine then. You will each write an essay on how to identify werewolves and kill them to be handed to me for Monday,' he said just before the bell rang and everyone shot up out of their seats. Slower to rise than the rest, Cassy packed her things away absent-mindedly, folding over page three-hundred and ninety-four.

'C'mon, Cassy,' whispered Neville hurriedly.

Cassy nodded at him, but moved her eyes back to the diagram on the board. Out the corner of her eye, she could see Professor Snape watching her intently.

* * *

**This addressed a few things, even if not a lot happened. I just don't feel like the chapter reads like progression, but I needed to address how things are not running totally smoothly for Cassy as well as bring Remus' problem up and have McGonagall tell Harry like she went to in the book. It's a pretty basic chapter so I apologise for that.**

**Thank-you massively for the people who reviewed. I'm always delighted to have someone tell me they enjoy my story. I was always told I was hopeless at English by my teachers until I taught myself and I got my GCSE and A-Level grades. I shocked the lot of them, it was beautiful. However, I still get very anxious with every chapter I upload, so it means a lot to hear that people enjoy them. **

**I got a new laptop and I'm not used to Windows 8 at all. I keep opening things accidentally and it annoys me so much when I'm trying to write. I had issues reading this chapter as a lot of things were not added to my spell check and it kept changing the words. If I've missed some things it is probably because I was getting a little frustrated with the machine.**

**Thanks!**


	8. Trust in me

C. M. Black : Blood of a Dog

**Chapter VIII: Trust in me**

Had there ever been a time that was appropriate to curse elegant clothing, it was to be that moment. The coat had almost seemed practical to wear – thick and durable for the coldest of weathers – but it quickly became unmanageably heavy and completely useless when exposed to torrential rain. However, that had been okay, for it would keep out the chill longer than any other garment, but what Cassy had not foreseen was the run she would have to make up the steep steps from the Quidditch pitch to the castle.

She stood in the hospital wing, sopping wet, coat dripping all over the floor with flushed cheeks from both the cold and exertion of lugging such a coat. It had quickly been placed over a division screen, along with several other people's outerwear and Madam Pomfrey did not seem to mind at all.

Either side of Cassy were Neville and Hermione, with Ginny next to her. They stood some way off, allowing the teachers to move around Harry's prone body, prodding him with their wands and smothering him in thick blankets.

'Will he be okay?' asked Ginny to no one in particular.

'In time, I expect,' said Professor Dumbledore in a low voice. 'Mr. Potter has been extremely fortunate today.'

'_Fortunate_?' repeated Neville under his breath.

The professors began to back away, leaving Madam Pomfrey at his side. As they did, the doors burst open widely, unnecessarily loudly too, for they had never been closed fully. The Gryffindor Quidditch team all but charged in, faces smeared with mud and clothes not fairing any better. They skidded to a halt behind the Cassy, Neville, Hermione and Ginny, barely making way for the Professors to get to the door.

'How is he?' breathed Fred.

'Professor Dumbledore said he would be fine with rest,' said Hermione quietly.

'And that he will,' said Madam Pomfrey. She had moved away from his bedside for a moment to collect a large chunk of chocolate. After placing it down on his side table, she instructed them to be quiet and to ensure he eats it all upon waking. She then bustled off to a bed further up the wing which held Draco, who growled as she came close, not liking the tut she gave.

Everyone took the opportunity to gather closely around Harry's bed. He looked peaky beneath the dirt, lips white and all.

'Did anyone else see the look of Dumbledore's face?' asked Angelina Johnson after a period of silence.

'Yeah,' said Fred.

'I've never seen him so angry before,' said George.

'Well, they did almost _kill_ our seeker,' said Wood sharply.

It was almost ironic that those brought in to save Harry's life had been the ones to almost take it. Even though Cassy usually took a degree of amusement in events like that, she found little to be had here. The Dementors had swarmed the pitch unable to keep away from such a large, bustling crowd. The utter excitement of the game had drawn them in and ruined what was supposed to be the most intense and anticipated match of the season – Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

It had taken only fifteen minutes for Draco to slip. He catapulted straight off his broom when avoiding a bludger hit by Fred. That left only Harry and the game was a sure win for Gryffindor. Wood could be seen roaring with delight so frantically that he had let two bludgers in before he got his mind back on the game. However, it turned quickly and a dark chill settled across the stadium. At fist Cassy thought it to be the wind bringing in a colder front, but then there was a scream and more voices joined it. Then, upon looking up to the stormy sky, she could see Harry hurtling to the ground, black-cloaked figures trailing after him.

Professor Dumbledore rose suddenly, wand outstretched and in the blink of an eye the Dementors were gone and Harry was lying on the ground, half his face sunk into the mud. The game stopped and Cassy found herself midway down the staircase before the whistle had even blown. She burst onto the pitch, Neville and Hermione just behind her.

'That was easily the most terrifying this I have ever seen,' said Neville shakily.

'That's saying quite a bit,' muttered Cassy under her breath. She knew Neville had heard her, for he nodded slightly, yet so had Hermione, who looked slightly puzzled, but dropped it as Harry stirred.

His eyes snapped open suddenly and he scrambled for his glasses. Heaving himself up to sit, his eyes flicked over each of them before the inevitable question of what occurred was asked. Everyone chipped in to give a quick run down, but Harry seemed more concerned about the outcome of the match than anything else. As it was, the match was postponed and the two teams would play again later in the season because without their seekers, the game could not officially end.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Yet, he tensed at the awkward response he then received and came to the dreadful realisation that no one had mentioned his broom.

'Well,' said Fred slowly.

'We went to get it after the match,' said George. He looked around at the other Quidditch players, who shuffled their feet. Wood looked as if he was about to burst into tears.

'Where is it?' demanded Harry.

Fred turned to the bed behind him. There were clatters and scrapes before he turned around holding two large, splintered bits of wood.

'Sorry, Harry,' said Katie Bell. 'The wind blew it away after you fell and it went straight into the Whomping Willow... there was nothing we could do.'

Distantly, they could hear a sticker. It was undoubtedly Draco, who must have over heard their conversation in the otherwise silent wing. The laughter stopped as Wood swung round, looking ready to grab a bit of the shattered broom and club him with it. He was barely restrained by Alicia Spinnett, who held his arm loosely with no real conviction.

'It's fine, it's all right,' said Harry after he had stared for a while.

'We're sorry, Harry. I'll go and ask Professor Flitwich if there's anything he can do for it. He might be able to rebuild it or something,' said Hermione gently.

It was unlikely and Harry knew that as much as everyone else, but he offered her a smile and she scampered off with the splintered ends in her arms almost at once. The smile did not stop Cassy from reaching out and patting his arm, squeezing it gently with a small smile of her own. He smiled again, but it was barely any more convincing to her than the first had been.

* * *

Cassy strode down the corridor with a satchel that obviously did not belong to her slung over her shoulder. In it contained several things she had ransacked from Harry's trunk – she was delighted by the shrieks of surprise she received from his dorm mates when they woke to find her there – that she believed Harry would like to keep him occupied in the evenings when the Hospital Wing was closed to visitors.

There was insistence to keep him in all weekend, which was met with some resistance. However, Madam Pomfrey simply turned her back and ignored the complaints after a stern assurance she would hunt him down again if he even thought of running away. No, she had decided that Harry ought to be monitored keenly after his attack and plummet and nothing they could say would get him out of there.

Walking briskly, she rounded the corner towards the main staircases, barely looking at those she passed until she caught sight of a mop of long, dirty blonde hair. She paused and smiled.

'Good morning, Luna,' she said brightly.

Luna turned. Her large, protruding eyes gazed at her in surprise, although she rarely looked anything less, Cassy thought she was beginning to be able to see the differences in each of the girl's expressions clearer.

'Hello, Cassiopeia,' she greeted.

'May I ask why you are shoeless?' said Cassy, glancing down at Luna's feet for a moment with eyebrows crinkled up in the centre.

'Oh, my housemates find it fun to hide my things. I was just looking for them actually. I thought they might be on one of the stair railings,' she said airily, titling her head back up and facing away.

Cassy frowned, 'they steal your belongings?'

'Oh, no. They simply take them and hide them, they always show up sooner or later in the least expected of places. But that's quite all right, I don't need them right now anyway.'

Despite wearing a deep from that Luna could not see, Cassy kept her mouth closed on the subject. She could inform Luna that it was indeed stealing, but she did not see what difference that would make to her opinion. If anything, Luna would stare on like she was then, bright-eyed and careless, ignoring every word Cassy would have said. Instead she simple asked if she wanted any help.

'No, it's fine. You are going somewhere now anyway, aren't you? To see Harry?' said Luna, finally turning back around. She smiled softly, looping her hands behind her back, while Cassy nodded. 'I saw you wondering around earlier, actually, but you looked deep in thought so I let you be. I wouldn't want to interrupt.'

'I would not have minded,' said Cassy earnestly. 'I don't have to be anywhere else today.'

'It is good to think on stormy days. It clears your mind,' commented Luna. She blinked slowly with a thoughtful expression on her face when she began to speak again. 'I quite like to think on early spring mornings when the ground is covered in due. It feels nice on my feet.'

It was Cassy's turn to blink slowly. She had long since realised that conversing with Luna was strange and that she could not always come up with a proper reply. She often had never considered the subject before. So, her mind conjured the first thing in relation to the topic, even though Cassy often felt quite silly saying it; Luna never seemed to care though.

'Personally, I believe I think best on clear autumn days. I like cooler weather,' she replied.

Luna nodded and said: 'Yes, you do look like someone like that.'

There was a moment of silence that Cassy was unsure if she should take as an opportunity to leave, however, she had one other thing she thought of before she was to be on her way.

'Have you been to see Blackjack at all recently? The weather has been bad, so I was wondering how he was fairing,' said Cassy. 'I haven't been able to see him in the past week because I have had quite a bit of homework and the things that have been going on with the break-in and family issues...'

Cassy trailed off at that. She had nothing more to say to Luna about it and she was sure she would not ask. A single letter had been exchanged between herself and Alphard, although he did advise her to be careful with what she wrote before she left. He did not send another after her reply and for a while Cassy was concerned something had happened. She racked her eyes over the Daily Prophet everyday from cover to cover for a week, before cornering Draco and asking for news. He had none, he explained rather affronted, and so Cassy let to concern go, replacing it will resigned annoyance.

A little huff was let out as she finished the though, only to realise Luna had not spoken at all during it. Instead, she stared pleasantly, patiently waiting for the thought to pass.

'I went to him yesterday just before dinner, seeing as the grounds are off limits now in the evening. He was very wet. He must have been out in the rain, poor thing. I don't know why though, he has other places to stay, or at least, he must do, because he is gone quite a lot of the time. He's been disappearing more than usual lately. I wonder if he was spooked by Sirius Black,' said Luna thoughtfully. 'I said I would visit him again today with Ginny, but have to find my shoes first. I don't know how much Filch will like it if I bring mud through the castle on my feet. I would like to bring him Butterbeer one day, it warms you up very well.'

'I'm not sure you should give a dog Butterbeer,' laughed Cassy. It made her wonder what else Luna and Ginny had been feeding the poor creature, but as long as it put on weight and became healthier, Cassy really did not mind. 'As long as he has somewhere to stay out of the rain tonight. It looks like it will be even worse than yesterday's storm... Is that a Butterbeer cap on that chain? Do you collect them?'

She had seen the necklace earlier when Luna had spun around and it had come loose from her cardigan. A few well chosen comments rose to mind about it; it was even more of a well chosen option not to comment at all because she could not think of a single thing to say beyond the strangeness other than 'that's nice', or even 'how unique'. None of them seemed to be a good response and Cassy hoped she did not ask for her opinion on it now.

'Something like that. I was sent some for Halloween by my father and I thought it would look nice on a chain. I do like the colours,' said Luna, fiddling with the chain.

Cassy pursed her lips. 'I... can get you some more when I next go to Hogsmead,' she offered.

'That's all right, I can wait until Christmas.'

'It's not trouble.'

'Okay, then,' she agreed with a nod.

Cassy smiled a little and took a step back, waving good-bye to Luna at last. When she turned the corner with the intent to finally making it to the library to take out a book for Harry, she frowned deeply and sighed to herself. There was no need to try and be nice to Luna, offering to collect her bottle caps was something strange to her and she probably should not endorse the strange behaviour. However, she had found herself talking to her fairly often when they met lately. She had long since realised Luna intrigued her, being so whimsical yet not being dull witted. However, she could not quite figure out why she liked the bizarre Ravenclaw so much.

* * *

The next evening Cassy found herself venturing back to Harry's beside, hands wrapped gently around a serviette bundled slice of chocolate cake.

There were not many people to pass, most were still in the Great Hall eating dinner with the exception of a dozen Gryffindors who had retreated to the common room early. Their food had been gulped down in eagerness for the ridiculous cake that had appeared at the foot of Cassy's bed that morning. It was huge, far too big to be reasonable and was decorated with shimmering stars that glittered the more the cake was praised.

Although never having had a cake quite like it before, there was no doubt in her mind that it had been ordered by Alphard and made by Plum and Kitsy. The care that went into it was tremendous, with Kitsy's signature wisps of chocolate icing and signs of Plum's over-zealous hand in the sparkles, but it was beautiful all the same.

The only issue that remained was how to get rid of it and her friends – and a few that were not – had assured her they would have no issue with that and so she grabbed a chunk for herself and Harry and left them to it. For the second year in a row, Cassy had escaped from her own birthday party and again she found she really did not care.

The large door to the hospital wing cracked open and she poked her head in. Harry was already looking at her from his bed, a book open on his lap and a half eaten plate of food on his bedside table.

'Evening,' she greeted, slipping in and closing the door.

'Hey,' he said.

The book was shut and pushed to the side. His hands automatically reached out to take the cake when Cassy held it out to him. It was unwrapped to be met with a delightful sound and before Cassy even had a chance to climb onto the end of his bed Harry had stuffed the end into his mouth.

'Thank-you for the present. It was lovely. Although it did take Neville nearly forty-minutes to find it. In the end it turned out he had moved it the night before with the intention of giving it to me, but he forgot,' she said, shaking her head.

'That sounds like him,' said Harry with a laugh. He placed the cake down for a moment, using one of the serviettes to wipe his fingers. 'That's really good cake.'

'It's the first time I've got one quite like it. My birthday cakes have always been brilliant, but never quite so spectacular. I think it's because we haven't spoken much recently. It's hard to when the Ministry are reading your mail. It's hard to think of anything to say knowing that it is not just for him,' she said.

Harry blinked at her, surprised. She was not looking at him as she spoke, but rather her hands, her voice soft and thoughtful in a way he had not heard before. All he could do was smile back at her.

'What did it look like?' he asked brightly.

Each detail was explained with reserved enthusiasm, although it was still very clear that Cassy had been chuffed with the surprise, as much as she complained about how unnecessary it all was. Neville had even got a picture of it – it turned out that he had developed a like for photography and while not having the most artistic eye he had not given up yet – and Cassy promised to show Harry tomorrow, having not thought to bring it with her.

'...I finally got into Neville's present by three o'clock,' said Cassy with a sigh.

Harry laughed. 'What was it in the end?'

'A book, like I said.'

'It didn't feel like a book, it felt soft though.'

'That was all the layers of paper and tape he had used.' Her voice was flat, but she was smiling. 'Hermione got out her scissors and we cut through it in the end. Neville seemed to think it was great fun, mind you. He said he'll make it even harder at Christmas if we would like.'

'I think I'd rather just have it like he usually wraps it, holes and all. That way I can always tell who's it is after all the tags have fallen off,' said Harry. The easiest way to tell gifts was by how they were presented and Neville's always had small, finger sized holes somewhere on the package from where he had handled it too roughly and they had poked through. Cassy's tended to have very pretty paper with too much tape as she was still learning how to actually wrap – although for Hermione's birthday she had branched out into bow tying and was rather pleased with herself. Hermione's were neat and presentable with a small tag containing a thoughtful, hand-written wish, while Harry's were functional enough, but often lumpy. It was becoming a bit of a game to guess whose was whose before touching them.

There was a short pause before Cassy frowned in thought.

'Actually, I received a gift with no tag on this morning. It was after lunch and I went up to show Ginny the cake and it was on my bed,' she said. 'I think it may have dropped off in flight or something, because there was a small brown owl fighting for space in the windowsill with Crin. It was much too small to carry it properly. Whoever sent it must not have thought about it at all, poor thing.

'I opened it anyway and inside was a beautiful navy blue coat, not one that would have been cheap at all, and on it was a broach, silver with little pearls. I don't know who would have given me such a thing. It was wonderful, but I am ever so surprised. I can only think that it may be my Great Uncle Ignatius. He seems keen to keep in touch with the family since his wife died late last year, that and I don't suppose he has much to spend his money on now it is not going on her tea pot collection. He would send me the odd gift when I was younger and can be quite sparse minded.'

Cassy considered this for a moment more before looking at Harry. He appeared curious with his head tilted to one side, but there was something building behind his eyes. Something Cassy would say she had noticed days ago and had never asked about. There was a moment of silence, left just in case he wished to add anything, before Cassy pushed on with a question she should have asked already.

'Are you all right?'

'What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why do I look peaky again?' said Harry with a small grin.

Eyes narrowed, Cassy shook her head. It quickly became apparent that she was not going to elaborate or change the topic, quite content to stare him down into submission. The weight of her eyes could be felt even when he looked away. He fidgeted, uncommonly bothered.

'No,' he finally relented. 'I'm not okay.'

His voice came out quickly, as if having wanted to tell someone something for a long time and suddenly seeing the opportunity. It was restrained by the faintest awareness that Madam Pomfrey was in her office less than twenty foot away.

'The only thing I'm looking forward to is being able to pick my owl meals tomorrow. They always manage the pick the blandest food from the kitchens when I'm in here... I don't want to see anyone tomorrow. I don't want their questions and I don't want to have to pass by the Slytherins who will just scoff at me for fainting _twice_ around the Dementors. Twice! I feel so... humiliated. No one else becomes so sick-'

'They do,' interjected Cassy patiently.

Harry shook his head sharply and continued, 'they don't collapse when just near one. They don't have one as their Boggart... or hear screaming-'

'You are not alone on the last one either,' said Cassy firmly.

Harry looked up at her and she gazed back with a stern face.

'I fainted on the train as well, that was not just you. You have one as your Boggart because it forces you to hear your mother _dying_. Other people will not know that sound. As for the screaming, I hear a voice too, my mother's. She's shouting at someone, calling for me and I can't quite remember why. I have an idea, but I try not to think about it. At least you hear your mother pleading to save your life. I hear mine cursing everything and that's one of the only memories I have of her.'

It was not quite a fair comparison, Cassy recognised, but one she felt she had to make all the same. She could only begin to comprehend what it must be like to hear someone dying in your head, over and over again. However, the shrieking rasp of a woman who loathed everything that her daughter grew to become herself was a bitter reminder of how Cassy had even grown to become like she was. It reminded her of a mother who could not care for her and a father whose priorities lay so far away that he probably had not even spared a thought for her as he was dragged deep underground.

But then it is worse to hear the death of someone who loved you than the pain of someone who could never quite, she thought. Her shoulders sagged a bit and she sighed.

'You are not alone, Harry. I wager I understand this better than anyone else in Hogwarts,' she said with a small smile.

'I still think I'd rather trade memories. It's not easy to explain how it makes me...' he said awkwardly. The burst of rage had visibly relieved some of the weight on his shoulders and he fiddled with the serviette as they fell into a more comfortable silence. He glanced up at Cassy several times before finally saying: 'I was thinking of asking Professor Lupin if he might teach me the Patronus charm, seeing as how Dementors like to feast on my soul, or whatever. Do you think he'll agree?'

'You are his favourite student. Just look at him with those doe eyes you have now and he will say yes,' said Cassy brightly.

Harry blinked and spluttered at the girlish connotation, making her laugh as he denied it.

'What do you mean?' he demanded.

'I mean that you have an expression were you become very bright-eyed and appear as if someone had ran over your cat.'

'That description was a lot less flattering than the one before,' snorted Harry.

Cassy howled with laughter as Harry tried to replicate the look.

* * *

**Long Author Note ahead:**

**If I am honest, I am concerned about this story. My first two were relatively successful. I got a decent amount of reviews for someone who has never written before, but that has declined dramatically with this story. Even the amount of people following it has dipped massively. I understand not everyone will always comment, but it worries me that less people like it enough to keep up with it. I also understand that the longer a series becomes, the less people are likely to want to catch up on it all. It's a shame though. This isn't a plea for people to review, it's an invitation for people to let me know if there is something I can do to get more people reading it, if they know any tips or hints. To me, it seems quite random sometimes what stories blow up when others do not. Any advise, let me know. I'd just like it to be on par with my other stories.**

**I've been struggling with some of the later chapters. I know what I want them to say, yet I can't seem to do it well. I am never happy with it. I think this is probably because, if I am honest, I have mild depression and sitting at home away from my friends who live all over the country brings me down a lot. It doesn't help my Alopecia is getting worse too. While I wouldn't normally admit to having either of those things in person, I feel like I can say it truthfully online and let you guys know that the chapters might slow down again in the next month. I go back to university to top it all off and will have to get used to a more intense work schedule. I will be without internet for ten days when I move in, which is why I am posting this now. Hopefully a lack of other things to do will motivate me to write.**

**I don't plan on abandoning this story and have all ready started planning forth year! Personally, I find third year to be the most boring one to write. I'm looking forward to fifth year, myself. It's when things should kick off, assuming I make it that far.**

**On another note, I found something scary when I was deciding what the wand wood for Cassy's should be. I decided to look up months that have wood allocated to them for spiritual purposes for a bit of fun. Some of you may have worked it out from the Prologue of Heart of a Lion that Cassy's birthday is in November, the fourteenth to be exact. The date was the first to pop into my head and work with the back story I had planned first, there wasn't any particular reason for that date. Then, I found this description: **

_The Reed - __October 28 - November 24_

_The Druids believed the Reed was a tree because of its dense root system. Cut Reeds were used as pens and symbolized __**wisdom**__ and __**scholarship**__. Reed people are __**complex, tenacious and fearless**__. __**Proud and independent**__, they have great strength of character and rarely compromise. They __**thrive on challenge**__ and have an innate __**belief in their own destiny**_

_Physical Goal - To __**find order where others find and create only chaos**__...to put this skill to work and __**take charge**__. _

_Mental Goal - To **keep any given target in sight** and not be distracted...results are only as sure as the intentions with which they are begun. _

_Spiritual Goal - To expect surprise encounters and upsets...__**the skills which will overcome such obstacles are as valuable teaching tools as the journey itself**__._

The Druid Animal - Hound or _**Dog **__was a title of honor for Celtic Chieftains as the Dog symbolized enduring loyalty - Reeds must unite a __**sense of purpose with their strong will or they can become self destructive**_

**I thought this was very spooky! How odd! I wanted to post this a while ago, but seeing as this chapter is about Cassy's birthday, I thought 'why not?'**

**Thanks!**


	9. Words to reveal

_**A.N: I want to thank those who reviewed. I didn't mean it as a rant, or anything like that, it's just that sometimes I feel a bit down in real life and I like to know that people appreciate what I write. I do it for me, at the end of the day, but sometimes I feel the need to offload and this wasn't probably the appropriate place to do it. As I said, I am not abandoning the story, especially for something like reviews, it might just take a while for me to update at the moment. I do hope this continues all the way to the end! I have big plans.**_

* * *

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter IX: Words to reveal**

Frost settled on the Tiffany windows and grew more each passing day, turning the mottled glass crisp white and icy to the touch. The weeks had grown colder and although the sky had threatened to snow for many days it did not fall. It remained a dull grey that clouded everything below it in a similar dank light, only adding to the blandness of life.

Nothing had happened in those weeks. There was no growing mystery, no sense of imminent danger that fuelled each days actions and made crawling into bed feel like a luxury each night. It was wonderful, nice, pleasant, normal, bland, dull, boring. It was very boring. Talk of Sirius Black had died down soon after the newspapers began to run out of stories to publish. His escape was pushed aside and while no one would complain about the security that built in their hearts, getting up everyday to attend lessons, talk about homework and detentions and who was snogging who began to get uninteresting very quickly.

Perhaps it did not help that the small group found their actions and movements still being closely watched at every turn. The excitement they could create through exploration – Fred and George had called them up on not having found all the secret passages yet – or finally using the Zonko products brought back from the first Hogsmead trip was squashed at every turn. Even Hermione, clever and brilliant and ever-so-sensible, had admitted to being rather bored.

Naturally, the schools spirits had picked up when the last Hogsmead visit of the year was announced. Naturally it was stomped on again when Professor McGonagall pulled Harry aside the same day and revoked his permission to attend. It was too dangerous, she insisted, threatening to give Harry a detention that afternoon if he continued to argue with her. So he had been left behind with the refusal to let the others remain with him, even though they had fully expected Cassy's right to attend to be pulled too.

Cassy rather wished it had at that moment. Out of the window she could see the frosted sprouts of grass between the cobblestone paving and the steamy breath of the gaggle of giggling girls. Her own breath came out thickly in short, sharp pants, the heavy coat weighing down on her small frame and her hair feeling grotesquely sticky underneath her mustard yellow hat. Swiping at her brow, she turned around and gave a painful stare to Hermione, who returned it while fanning her hand towards her face.

'Neville,' broached Hermione quietly, 'I don't suppose you're almost done. I don't want rush you, but I think I'm about the keel over from heat stroke.'

Neville looked up, his fingers falling from the large, purple leaf. His face was flushed and shiny. 'Oh! Right, yeah, I did think it was a bit hot. I just want to have a closer look at this. I might buy it for Gran for Christmas.'

Hermione looked as pained as Cassy felt.

Cassy looked back at the window. It had had steamed up again and the patch she had wiped away not long before was already impossible to detect. She stared longingly, debating whether she should stand outside and wait and why she had not done that ten minutes ago. The fabric of her coat was plucked and pulled away from her neck although it did little good. The mirror in her pocket weighed heavily against her leg, naturally pulling it down, the mirror that felt as though it had shifted.

Pausing, Cassy looked at her friends, then to the shop manager. Silently, she stepped behind a large Blunana tree and fished the mirror out. At her touch the vibration halted and she was greeted with Harry's grinning face.

'Hey, I don't suppose now is a good time to tell you I've sneaked out of the castle,' he said in a loud whisper.

'It's excellent, actually. Where are you?' said Cassy beaming.

'In the cellar of Honeydukes. Where are you guys? And why are you so red? It's not that cold.'

'We are in the beloved botanical shop. It is sweltering,' she replied.

There was a low shift somewhere beside Harry. He turned and looked and did not seem to see anything before turning back to her. Behind him the silvery folds of the Invisibility Cloak could be seen.

'I'll meet you outside of Honeydukes, all right? Stay under the cloak for now,' murmured Cassy, peeking through the giant blue leaves at the other three occupants. There was a shrill cry from the small bell plant beside her that echoed Harry's good-bye that had been lost in the rustling of leaves and the hum of the warming spell that surrounded the room.

She stepped out, one hand on her collar and the other fanning her face. 'I will be stepping outside for a moment, I got to get something before I forget, so I will meet you back here in five minutes, okay?' She did not wait for a reply and darted through the door and straight into the chilly wind that had never felt to good.

Although Hogsmead was busy, being nearly Christmas, it was easy enough to dodge through the trudging crowds and with an awkward half-walk that turned into a sprint on the clear pathways she made it to Honeydukes in no time. Skidding to a halt several feet away, she surveyed the front of the shop for any sign of Harry. Then, there was a tug at her sleeve and by the time she had turned the cloak was pulled from his head. Only Harry was not alone.

'Ginny!' said Cassy in delight. 'How impish of you.'

Ginny grinned from next to Harry, who grinned himself.

'Well, with Harry sneaking out I wasn't about to be left behind,' she said playfully.

'She demanded I take her with me, especially after I told her where I got the map from,' explained Harry, waving a blank bit of parchment.

'They let you borrow it for nothing? How unusual,' said Cassy.

'That's what I said. They must be up to something,' said Ginny. Her head was suddenly turned away and a group of Hufflepuff's wandered by. 'Well, this is exciting.'

The walk back to Neville and Hermione continued in a similar pattern. They would speak cheerfully until Ginny would be cut off by avoiding someone she recognised in concern they would notice her too. The cloak was thrown over both her and Harry as Dean and Ron passed, briefly pausing to ask if Cassy had seen Finnigan; they had lost him somewhere after the post office. Shaking her head, she sent them on their way again before laughing at Ginny's sheepish expression.

'Imagine if Ron caught me. I'd be dead. Mum would never give me permission to go,' she said and blushed deeply when Harry looked down at her with a wide smile.

'I forgot you get to come with us next year. I suppose you won't need a tour then,' he said, taking no notice of the way she ducked her head.

'Especially if she continues to accompany us,' added Cassy. Sliding her eyes over to Ginny, she smirked. 'Or is this trip daring enough for you? Pity.'

Ginny blinked owlishly for a moment before flashing her own smirk. She said, 'Of course not! I think it might take two trips to get a proper look around anyway.'

Harry rolled his eyes at the pair. When he looked back at the path he waved his arm high in the air, catching the attention of the pair outside of a little shop towards the end. For a second, neither of them reacted, before the taller one gave a great heaving wave of his own. Harry could have sworn he could see Hermione's mouth drop from where he stood.

Neville came hurrying over, arms empty having decided against buying the plant after all.

'Harry, Ginny, I can't believe you two are here. How in Merlin's name did you get out of the castle?' he asked before spotting the tip of the map stuffed in Harry's pocket. 'Excellent. I haven't had a good look at it yet.'

'How have – why - managed – and you brought Ginny! Harry, how reckless!' cried Hermione.

Harry waved his hand dismissively, he pulled out the map and silence her almost immediately as inky words spiralled across the surface. The explanation was brief, although they relayed everything they knew about it and when the topic of how they had first discovered Fred and George held such an item there was a sudden pause; Cassy told them that they had seen them use it when the twins had been returning after curfew. It was truthful enough and they were sure to tell Hermione and Ginny of their first year eventually, but it was not that day.

Afterwards, Hermione sniffed, looking concerned despite her folded arms.

'You can't keep something like that though, Harry. You must hand it in. What if-' she cut herself off sharply as though she just realised where her thoughts were about to lead.

Cassy had all ready clenched her jaw, then relaxed it as she looked at a spot in the distance between Neville and Ginny's heads.

With a frown, Harry explained the discovered passages, the collapsed one and the one under the Womping Willow – at which Cassy's attention spiked – before assuring her that no one could easily discover the one in the Honeydukes cellar. There was no way that it was how Sirius had entered the castle. Although towards the end his expression dimmed a fraction and he stared back at Hermione as she said nothing in return. Instead, she shifted uneasily, biting her lip.

Ginny leant closer to Neville and whispered something in his ear, most likely not having understood the conversation. It was dismissed with a nonchalant wave and smile, yet she looked no more convinced than Harry did at this point.

Could he get into the castle that way, thought Cassy. It was unlikely, given the increasingly frequent Dementor patrols, nevertheless, this was a man who had broken in once before and left as easily. There was nothing there stopping him.

Perhaps the grim realisation showed on Cassy's face, because before she knew it she was being herded down the street again back towards the village centre. Behind her, Neville was chatting enthusiastically, rather loudly and about mostly nonsense, to Ginny, who replied just as avidly in gratitude of the changed atmosphere. They led Ginny through the centre and every side street they passed, pointing out the good and the bad with no small amount of bickering in-between. When they entered each shop Ginny would gaze around with a look of utter excitement. Although she had been raised in a magical society, the novelty of entering a unique shop had yet to fade like it had with many other students.

Harry and Hermione had placed their astonishment down to the lack of independent stores in the muggle world. Most were not chain stores, which Cassy and Neville could count the number they knew of on their hands. It had spurred off a whole cultural discussion that had left Cassy and Hermione annoyed at one another like it always did. Neville was just thankful they had not brought up the hotly debated House-Elf topic that was starting to become repetitive.

While Ginny was bobbing between isles curiously, Hermione was rummaging through the new stock at the front counter and chatting merrily to the young store clerk. It was repeated in each shop and occasionally someone would buy something, or duck behind a stand to avoid being spotted. They had to, unfortunately, skip over Zonko's because the likelihood that someone would recognise them was paramount, so reluctantly they passed it buy, gazing at the 'Amazing New Stock!' sign plastered across the front window. Eventually, they made it to the Hogs Head and settled around a table towards the back of the tavern.

It was loud inside, people having gathered to escape the cold and they considered themselves lucky to have found a table so close to a fireplace, although it was counter-balanced by the nearby draughty window.

'Nothing a Butterbeer can't fix,' said Neville cheerfully after hanging his coat over the back of his chair. He and Hermione wormed their way over to the bar, where Madam Rosemerta was laughing loudly.

'What happened to Hermione's cheek by the way? She keeps scratching it and it's very red,' said Ginny.

'When we were looking around the botanical shop just before you both arrived Hermione got her hair tangled in the vines of a little Devil's Snare plant of some kind,' said Cassy. She caught Harry's eye as he cringed, remembering their first year and the way the thick tendrils had tried to squeeze them to death. 'This one had little needles on the limbs though, so I expect it is irritating her where it caught her face.

'What a terrible plant,' said Harry grimly.

'The owner offered her a coupon for three galleons off her next purchase for the trouble. Apparently it was suppose to be kept out of reach, but one of the staff members forgot to move it as it grew.'

'Hermione isn't really a plant person though, I can't imagine she'll have any use for it.'

'She didn't,' replied Cassy. 'She gave it to Neville.'

Neville and Hermione dropped the Butterbeers on the table with a loud thud before dropping down into their chairs.

'That's better,' sighed Neville, massaging his aching ankles.

'Merry Christmas, everyone!' cheered Hermione, raising her bottle and they all clinked together with a mash of similar wishes.

In an instant, a warm feeling bubbled in Cassy's stomach. It stretched to her fingers and her toes expelling the chill and replaced it with a pleasant tingle. It appeared that everyone felt the same, for they relaxed back into their seats with deeps sighs and content smiles.

'I think I like Hogsmead. I'm glad I spotted you trying to sneak out now,' said Ginny brightly.

Harry placed his Butterbeer down on the table. 'I'm glad I sneaked out. I would have missed this. Oh! I spoke to Professor Lupin this morning, seeing as I had nothing else to do. He agreed to give me Anti-Dementor lessons starting next term.'

'Oh, Harry, that's wonderful,' said Hermione. 'I do wish you hadn't put it off for so long though.'

Harry shrugged. He had waited and waited, thinking the idea over. Professor Lupin had made the Dementor on the train flee, but he hardly knew the man and he was frequently in ill health. He was brilliant, a simply brilliant teacher and a cheerful man, yet Harry had not spoken to him outside of classes and it was only when the thought of another incident built up strong enough in Harry's mind that he finally did something about it. Although he had tried to refuse initially, even Professor Lupin found himself giving way to that determined look in Harry's eyes as many had before him.

'He said he's going to be teaching me the Patronas, if he can. He said it's very advanced magic,' continued Harry. He looked around at his friends' faces, most of whom were looking in eager wonder; Cassy was collecting bottle caps off the table.

'Most adults cannot perform that charm. It will be quite a feet for you to master it,' she said, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

'I don't need to master it,' he replied with a shrug. 'I just need to be able to drive away the dementors. I don't expect miracles.'

'You'll be fine,' said Neville with a grin.

'We have seen you perform miracles before,' finished Cassy with a smile of her own.

Harry rolled his eyes and did not reply to the questioning looks of Hermione and Ginny.

A prolonged breeze brushed passed them, accompanied by a faint ringing of the bell above the door that was lost somewhere in the chatter. It only took a second and Harry and Ginny were shoved under the table.

Entering was Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, their coats covered in tiny speckles of white that could only mean it had finally began to snow at long last. It would have been a delightful thought had Hagrid not emerged next to a very recognisable figure – the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

Not many viable reasons formed in Cassy's mind to explain the group. It must be something to do with the security in the area, that much she was certain, although she could not guess why Hagrid was there. Then again, she thought, he did live on the grounds so perhaps he had complained. The Dementors had been more of a nuisance lately. Her eyes widened a fraction when Fudge moved away from the bar and began walking straight towards their table.

With a hushed whisper and a flick of her wand, Hermione had the broad Christmas tree beside their table hover and planted it directly between their table and the empty one in front. None of the staff seemed to notice it move as they settled around and began shedding their thick outerwear. Then, Madam Rosmerta returned with a tray of drinks, handing out the largest to Hagrid and the smallest to Professor Flitwick.

'Have one for yourself and come a join us,' said Fudge.

Madam Rosmerta's heels clicked as she wandered back to the bar to deposit the tray before pulling up her own chair next to Professor McGonagall.

Hermione caught Cassy's eye and her jaw clenched nervously when Cassy dipped her eyebrows slightly and shook her head in an unknowing fashion.

'What brings you all the way out here then, Minister,' said Madam Rosmerta curiously.

There was a pause and they could only assume Fudge was peering around, for he then said, 'Why Sirius Black, my dear.'

Cassy was shoved under the table too in a rather noisy manner, her head colliding painfully with the edge of her chair. However, the noise was drowned out by the other occupants and Fudge continued talking. Harry and Ginny were looking at her while she rubbed the back of her head before pinching Hermione's leg hard enough to make her squirm.

'Do you still think Black's in the area, Minister?' asked Madam Rosmerta wearily.

Resisting the urge to frown, Cassy allowed herself to sigh as Fudge confirmed the suspicion. It was hardly surprising and Harry did not even look remotely phased at the information.

'Sometimes I have trouble believing the whole thing,' admitted Madam Rosmerta.

'So does everyone,' said Professor McGonagall grimly. 'He was such a bright boy, lively and mischievous, but never a bad bone in his body.'

'I remember when he was causing trouble in here, I would complain about the noise, but him and his friends were a great laugh. I loved having them,' said Madam Rosmerta softly.

There was a break in the conversation and between the lower branches of the tree Cassy could see Fudge's leg twitch uncomfortably. Her heart gave a twinge and she felt very uncomfortable hearing their conversation. It was private and thoughtful and about a man who had murdered their expectations of him in one single night, ruining it all.

'He had a little girl, didn't he? She was in the papers and there was a big argument over where she was to go when he was arrested. Ended up with an uncle, or something, I recall?'

'Alphard Black, yes,' said Fudge hurriedly. 'Her father's uncle, I believe.'

'She's a Gryffindor,' said Hagrid cheerfully, despite it all. 'Ain't nothin' wrong with Cassy.'

'No one thought there was anything wrong with Black himself until Halloween,' said Fudge before spluttering. 'I didn't mean to assume anything, Professor.'

Cassy blanched.

'You can't judge a child on things their parents have done, or we wouldn't have very many good people left to see in society, Minister,' said Professor McGonagall stiffly.

'Still, killing thirteen muggles, how awful,' said Madam Rosmerta.

'That's only the tip of the iceberg, I'm afraid, my dear,' sighed Fudge. 'Many people don't know the worse of what he did that night.'

Stiffly, the three under the table glanced between each other. Mind reeling, Cassy tried to imagine what was worse than killing all of those people, worse than leaving his daughter alone without a second thought to a family unlikely to ever love her -

'You remember his best friend, don't you?'

'Oh, yes, always together Sirius Black and James Potter,' said Rosmerta brightly.

Cassy flinched and Harry dropped the bottle of Butterbeer he had snagged off the table loudly onto the floor. Neither looked at each other.

'You'd have thought them to be brothers!' exclaimed Professor Flitwick. 'They were completely inseparable. Always causing trouble together, blowing up cauldrons and setting the drapes on fire.'

'Potter trusted Black more than anyone else. He was their best man at James and Lily's wedding, then was named Godfather to their son, Harry-' Fudge's voice tuned out for a moment as the thought caught up in Cassy's mind. She had a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach that only got worse as the conversation continued. '- The Potters were, in fact, aware that You-Know-Who was hunting them. They were tipped off by one of Dumbledore's spies and immediately they were sent into hiding. Hiding from You-Know-Who was extremely difficult, if he wanted you dead, he would find you. So, they used the Fidelious Charm.'

Professor Flitwick began to explain the charm, but Cassy did not listen. She knew how it worked and her mind was all ready ahead of this topic and it was repeating itself, begging just once to be wrong and that she was simply used to expecting the worse, that she was jumping to conclusions. She needed to cool down, it was too warm.

'So, Black was naturally the Potter's Secret-Keeper,' said Professor McGonagall. 'James said Black would rather die than reveal where they were to anyone, yet Dumbledore remained worried, he offered to be the Secret-Keeper himself. He was sure someone close to them was passing on information to You-Know-Who. Someone had become a traitor.'

Slowly, Cassy's eyes slid to Harry. He was not looking at her, instead he was staring blankly at the base of the Christmas tree and it was difficult to tell if he was even still listening. Everyone jumped at the next voice.

'That flithy, stinkin' turncoat!' boomed Hagrid suddenly.

There was a great deal of shushing and the table waited for the noise to pick up again before they continued.

'I met him that night. I comforted him, pale an' shakin' he was when he showed up on that flyin' motorbike of his. I didn't – I just thought he'd heard and came to check... I comforted him! No-' Hagrid's shifted as through brushing away someone's hand. 'He had the gall to ask for Harry! Sayin' he was his Godfather an' how he's take care of him. I bet he would have, think where Harry would be if I hadn't refused. He'd be dead!'

'Hagrid, please,' hushed Professor McGonagall.

Harry's eyes were closed now. Cassy did not want to hear anymore.

'He loved that bike, he would never had given it to me if it hadn't been so easy to trace-' Hagrid took a big gulp from his tankard, '- would have disappeared an' left everythin' behind.'

'He didn't though,' said Madam Rosmerta much more calmly. 'He was caught the next day.'

'Yes, but not by the Ministry, if only,' said Fudge with a sigh. 'He was found by the Potter's other friend, Peter Pettigrew. Must have ran after Black in grief. He wasn't the brightest wizard, poor lad didn't stand a chance. Black obliterated him and those muggles. Witnesses reported him screaming and cursing him, asking how he had dared to do such a thing to their friends...'

'I should've-'

'There is nothing you could have done, Hagrid. Black was a very powerful wizard and I remember being on the scene... bodies everywhere and Black was laughing, he just stood laughing at this pile of robes on the ground... when we got a closer look there was just a finger left of a person - of Peter Pettigrew.'

The story tapered off and there was heavy sniffing the replace it, but then, as though Fudge needed to tell someone, anyone, he continued on for a moment longer.

'When I inspected Azkaban, I was startled by how _sane_ he seemed. He did not mutter or curse, instead spoke to me calmly and asked for my paper; he said he liked doing the puzzles at the back. He was so calm...'

There was another pause before the chairs began to scrape back and the many pairs of visible feet shifted at Professor McGonagall's call to return to the castle for dinner. With their cloaks on the group left and Madam Rosmerta's glittering turquoise heels deviated to return to her place behind the bar to the cheers of the men.

'Harry,' breathed Cassy when she noticed his eyes were open again.

He did not look at her. He crawled out from under the table, leaving his coat on the chair and stumbled towards the door, knocking shoulders with several people on his way out.

'Harry!' cried Cassy, emerging hurriedly. She ignored the fact that people might turn at the sound of her voice and she called again.

'Cassy, wait,' called Hermione, scrambling to collect both Harry and Cassy's coats before they disappeared.

The air was chilly and the snow was coming down harder, yet it was not difficult to spot the messy black hair in the near empty street. The sun was beginning to set and it was time to return to the castle, but she could not, not yet, and so darted after him as he seemed to pick up pace.

Catching him by the shoulder, her mouth opened to speak before emitting a heavy, started grunt. The blood that had been pulsing in her ears doubled in volume and there was a slow moment of clarity as she stared up at the white sky. Somewhere back from where she came there was a shriek and several pairs of thundering footsteps that stopped when she pushed herself into a sitting position.

'You hit me,' she said slowly in surprise. There was a dull ache in her ribs where Harry's elbow had swung backwards at her touch. Right then, much of the vigour of the hit was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he looked ashen, surprised, with one hand half reaching out for her. It fell back to his side and he stared with a peculiar expression on his face.

'I... I'm...I think you should stay away from me for a while,' he said finally.

'_Harry,_' pleaded Cassy, still on the ground.

He said nothing and averted his eyes. Suddenly and with stiff shoulders, he turned on his heel and walked away. She watched him go, unmoving until Ginny stumbled past her with a panicked look and run after Harry with his coat and Invisibility cloak in hand.

There was a soft crunch and Neville knelt down in the snow next to her, placing one hand on her shoulder.

'Don't worry, he'll come around. He's not mad at you, he just needs time to think,' he said softly, pulling her by her arm and forcing her to stand.

* * *

**Done! Lot's of re-explanation although I did try and cut bits of it out for the sake of not making the chapter tedious to read. I wanted to show bits of the reactions of the group though, so I kept a lot of it in. Also, I used the version from the book because I like it better that Harry doesn't run off screaming in the snow, although I suppose that would be well deserved. He's a bit dazed in the book and I liked that, so that's what I'll be working with.**

**Hope you liked it. I wanted Ginny in it simply because I could see this happening and she's supposed to be a little but mischievous so I might as well start showing it!**

**Hope you all liked it.**

**Thanks!**


	10. Conversations with friends

C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

**Chapter X: Conversations with friends**

The grand fire place roared with life, crackling and popping, spitting embers as it was jabbed and fuelled. The paper crumpled quickly and the lively photographs blackened as the people within them fled from the flames, everyone but the one of Sirius Black. He remained, screaming and writhing until the fire devoured him whole.

Cassy watched him fade before turning her attention back to the board on the floor. The black and white figures were in lines of their respective colour, clambering up the edge of the box one by one to align themselves with their designated slots within the case. The white pieces turned to her, each saluting before lying down, praising her long coming victory against their owner, for which Cassy could not feel happier for.

'It's still cheating, you know. You can count it if you really want, but... it's not a real victory,' said Ron nonchalantly, ears still tinged red from an earlier outburst.

'A win is a win,' said Cassy, stretching her stiff spine. 'Plus, I did not cheat, you distracted yourself by making controversial conversation with me.'

'Controversial? I would say so! To think, you've never even played Quidditch, not once...' he said slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.

The fact that she had not won entirely fairly did not bother Cassy in the slightest, instead she took even more pleasure from it, for it was such an utter shock to Ron his thoughts collided into an inaudible mess that it sounded like a child's cry. Half of the common room turned to look and at the sight of Cassy's victorious smirk they either turned away again, or clapped. Dean and Seamus even let out cheers. It was a conversation that Cassy had goaded out of Ron with more delightful consequences than expected.

'I enjoy the atmosphere of the games if that helps ease your mind,' she said lightly. She ducked her head to hide her smile when Ron's face rose, a look so intense one would think he was making a speech to be Minister of Magic.

'The _atmosphere_? The atmosphere in the crowd is only part of it! The intensity of each throw, the sinking feeling when your team misses that point, or the anger when your favourite is given a caution because the other team are cheating gits...' he said passionately.

'Have you ever thought of commentating a match? I expect you would be very good,' said Cassy.

He looked wistful as he placed the lid on the box and shuffled backwards to rest his back against one of the plush armchairs. Stretching out his long legs, he kicked the box under the coffee table and it collided heavily with the book he had forced Cassy to abandon earlier that evening to play chess. His attention was fixed on the book for a moment, before his eyes drifted over to a table towards the far left of the common room, then over to Cassy with a thoughtful expression. He leaned closer, waving his hand for her to do the same, although the pair never got close due to his gangly legs taking up most of the floor space.

'I was wondering,' he said conversationally, in what was certainly not a whisper, 'what did you two fight about anyway?'

Cassy stared for a moment before recoiling. She fixed him with a hard look that forced him to throw his hands in the air in surrender, yet the curious expression did not waver.

'Just asking, because I've never seen you two fight before. Even when he was mad at you last year for being an idiot with the Chamber-' Cassy opened her mouth to interject, but Ron rolled over it without the slightest bit of notice, 'he was never angry with you.'

Her expression flattened further. Looking towards where her friends sat, she could see how tense they were and what looked like Ginny and Neville forcing awkward conversation just to keep one going, while Hermione muttered to Harry across the table. Cassy could not clearly see Harry's face, but she could make out the dipped brow and his squared shoulders – Hermione was not getting through to him, whatever she was saying.

A silence fell between Cassy and Ron. The fire flickered and he reached around to gather up more paper to throw in, flicking it back when it rolled out again and onto the stone floor.

'I cannot say why exactly,' said Cassy quietly. There was too much to explain and it would be unfair on Harry to divulge all of that information to Ron; they were not close enough. Cassy and Ron were not close enough.

However, Ron did not seem to mind. He simply shrugged.

'I just noticed that you two didn't speak at dinner, so everyone thought he might be mad that you went to Hogsmead without him. It was a bit awkward to watch really, everyone just spoke around you,' he said.

Cassy fixed with with a blank stare and said, 'Thank-you for that insight. It will be fine though.'

'I never said it wouldn't,' he said, not looking at her. He poked the fire a bit more before continuing. 'Look, Harry's pretty a forgiving guy when it comes down to it. He forgave me for what I said to you in first year, although I didn't know what that word meant to him at the time... he explained it at Christmas too me when everyone had gone home. I suppose then it was a little late, we had both found other friends so we couldn't be best friends anymore, but it's not like that with you two.'

Ron did not look at her once as he spoke, his ears were tinged pink though and Cassy did not believe it was the light of the fire.

'If you give him time, he'll come around, I'm sure of it,' he said, then glanced at her. 'But, if it's something he's done then I'm sure he didn't mean it. He has a woman's temper sometimes.'

Cassy choked back a laugh and Ron grinned.

* * *

The day after the trip to Hogsmead was the first day of the Christmas holidays and Cassy had awoke to the sound of Brown's trunk falling onto its side and colliding loudly with the heater in the centre of their room. She and Patil had then hurried off to breakfast and Cassy sighed, rolled onto her back and slung an arm over her eyes.

Next to her was rustling and she knew Hermione had been waiting for her to wake up. It was followed by a heavy thud of a book on the duvet and an unmistakable weight at the end of her bed.

'Can I help you?' said Cassy, unmoving.

'You didn't sleep well last night, did you?' said Hermione and although it sounded like a question, it was not; she all ready knew the answer.

Cassy said nothing and just sighed again. It was true, she had not slept well. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep and once she had she woke up frequently, never quite remembering what had made her do so, but still laying there with an awful sinking sensation in her stomach. Now, her eyes felt heavy, limbs aching and back protesting from finally having settled in an odd position at some point in the night. She was certain her hair most likely resembled Hermione's too, from tossing and turning so much.

'It will be fine, you know,' assured Hermione, patting Cassy's knee through the blanket.

'Everyone has said that, but it's not only Harry that's bothering me,' mumbled Cassy and by the way Hermione's hand tightened on her knee, she knew the other had heard.

Hermione had sounded sure of herself when she spoke, but as Christmas grew ever closer nothing had improved. Harry was still not speaking to her and if anything the situation had become worse with every other student in Gryffindor, bar the four of them, gone home for Christmas. They either had to spend time with each other or time alone.

Neville and Hermione tried to split their time equally over the week, yet more often than not Cassy would shoo them away, knowing that Harry needed someone to distract him more than she did. Instead, she spent a lot of her time in the library, throwing herself into work or little projects just to occupy her mind and appeared to have come to a truce with Madam Pince. She could collect and keep as many books as she liked on a table out of sight over the holidays without them being cleared away each night.

Although Christmas was expected to go in a similar fashion to all of the other days, Cassy awoke Christmas morning with a twinge of excitement. She pushed herself up, stretched and cast an eye over to Hermione who appeared to have been up for several minutes all ready with paper strewn across her bed. Even Crookshanks had tinsel tied around his neck, although he looked very grumpy for it.

'Merry Christmas,' said Hermione and Cassy gave a polite return.

Bright, patterned papered parcels sat at the foot of her bed. With all the energy she could muster early in the morning, she reached over and piled them on her bed. There was a growing mound of paper and stack of cards when Cassy smiled and held up a little box.

'Luna sent me a gift,' she said.

Hermione turned with a raised eyebrow and watched curiously as Cassy pulled off the purple lid. She then raised an eyebrow of her own when she pulled out a silver bracelet. Hermione snorted loudly.

Hanging from the chain were many different trinkets. Several little beaded stars of various colours, some stones, including a Cat's Eye, which made Cassy smile slightly at the well wishing meaning.

'It's very odd,' said Cassy as she inspected a button that looked oddly like one she had lost from her sleeve the other week. 'It is very Luna.'

'You won't wear that, will you?' asked Hermione.

Cassy shook her head and laughed, yet she awkwardly clasped it around her wrist using one hand. The jagged points of the Butterbeer cap had been filed down.

'Just for today, in the spirit of things I suppose,' she said, having also tugged a Weasley jumper she was given over her head that she was sure she would never wear again.

There was a tiny note folded inside of the box and Cassy read it aloud.

' "Dear Cassy, thank-you for the caps. I can finally add to my necklace, although it made six in total and it's better not to have an even number of charms, so I made you this bracelet with thirteen. It should invigorate your soul. Luna." A rather obnoxious chain, but a lovely thought I suppose,' said Cassy, adding the note to the pile of cards.

'I'm still surprised you're friends with her,' admitted Hermione.

'Normally, I would avoid people like her, but she is actually very kind. Besides, it is entertaining trying to decipher what out of everything she says is actually useful and true. She's hardly straight forward, but it is not always nonsense,' came Cassy reply, coupled with a laugh at the sight of Hermione's doubtful face. 'Besides, I'm interested in seeing how someone like that can actually function in society.'

'So, she's like a documentary to you? No, nevermind, I forgot you won't know what one of those is,' said Hermione, waving her hand dismissively.

Cassy brushed whatever it was that Hermione accused her of away and continued to open her gifts. When they had finished unwrapping and sufficiently nosed through each other's belongings, Hermione stood and donned her dressing gown before standing uncertainly in the doorway of the staircase. She shifted her weight back and forth, a hand on the door frame ready to go with Crookshanks nestled in the other, but her eyes kept flicking back.

'Go,' said Cassy. 'Tell them I wish them both a merry Christmas.'

'You could always come, you know, I'm sure...' Hermione trailed off when Cassy shook her head.

'No, it is fine. I don't want to make things tense on Christmas.'

Hermione bit her lip, but swung the door shut behind her.

When Cassy was certain she was not going to barge back in, she stood and gathered the ripped paper up, scrunching it down into the small bin. She pulled a piece without looking only for it to be followed by a clatter. Something had hit the stone floor.

Blinking, Cassy turned to see a small, blue box upside down beside her foot. Kneeling down to collect it, she noticed a second package tucked under her bed that must have been pushed aside as she collected her other gifts. Curiously, she picked both up and eyed the tag on the blue box in shock. It read:

_To Cassy,_

_From Harry_

There was no seasonal greeting or well wishes, but at that moment Cassy did not care. Harry had still sent her a Christmas present despite it all. She smiled to herself.

* * *

Lunch had been a rather awkward affair with the teachers sitting around the same table as the students with Professor Dumbledore's insistence because of their low number, and that meant that everyone was able to hear Professor McGonagall's impatience with Professor Trelawney. Her disbelief of Divination was so potent that it actually caused a few people to shift tensely in their seats. However, the Headmaster pacified it rapidly and everyone was left to enjoy the delightful festive food and the terrible jokes and prizes from pulling crackers.

Professor Dumbledore bid Cassy a merry Christmas as she was the first to leave the table. She returned it cordially and nodded to Neville and Hermione like she usually did at meal times and had even braved sitting with them. While Harry did not speak, he did not shuffle down the table either to their relief and glee.

She sat up in her room with a silver box open, listening to the delicate tune that rang out from it. It was beautiful, carved metal with deep red velvet lining and a small mirror. A tiny silver key sat next to it. It had been inside and it was presumable that it fitted into the equally tiny lock. The song faded out and moments later it began again while Cassy was still inspecting the intricate markings on all sides.

There had been no tag on the parcel, just like a present she had received for her birthday and like that one, it was remarkably beautiful and undoubtedly expensive. She wondered who had sent them to her; she had a feeling, of course, but she could not be certain. It was so doubtful, it was so coincidental at the same time. A hard stare was given and broken within moments.

Footsteps up the staircase made it difficult for Cassy to continue contemplating. When the door opened, it was not the cheerful look Cassy expected to see on Hermione's face, nor an irritated one she wore so well, rather it was an expression of worry. Her brows were dipped and her hands wrung as she made way for Professor McGonagall to enter.

In the teacher's hand was a broom. It was sleek and shiny, obviously new, yet it was held at a distance, as though it might explode at any second.

'Professor?' questioned Cassy, shutting the jewellery box; silence fell.

Professor McGonagall stood sternly, eyeing Cassy critically with one hand on her hip. After a moment, she said, 'Miss Black, did you receive any gifts today that did not say who the were from? Any at all in the past few months, in fact?'

Cassy blinked. 'Well, yes. I received something today and for my birthday. You surely do not think...' Her eyes flicked between Professor McGonagall and Hermione before pursing her lips. 'I suppose it is pointless to say they would have killed me by now had they meant to.'

'Where are they?' asked Professor McGonagall, but Cassy was all ready moving towards her trunk. She pulled out the thick coat with the broach still attached, before holding it out.

'Both of these pieces as well as the jewellery box,' she said blankly.

The coat was hooked over Professor McGonagall's arm and the box held delicately in her hand.

'You've worn the coat and opened the box?' she asked. 'Was there anything inside the box that I should know about?'

Cassy shook her head. 'Simply the key to the lock on the front. It plays music.'

Her Professor nodded and turned to go, but cast Cassy one last look.

'This is a precaution, not a punishment. Nobody knows how far he's gone or is capable of going... and any chance of tracking him will-'

'I understand, Professor,' said Cassy, holding up a hand to silence her, 'but please return them in one piece, I'm rather fond of them all ready.'

Professor McGonagall did not answer to that and in a second she was gone.

Hermione walked to her bed and sat down on it with her back to Cassy, sneakily peering over her shoulder until the latter slid her eyes over to meet her. Hermione then whipped her head back around, shrinking down.

'I am not mad, Hermione,' said Cassy blandly. Her head rolled onto her shoulder to stare lazily at Hermione's hunched back. 'I understand that Harry is though, assuming that was his broom?'

Hermione swung herself round suddenly, her eyes flooded with tears that she refused to let fall. Sniffing, she bobbed her head, clambering across and onto Cassy's bed, forcing the other to manoeuvre to see her fully.

'He's furious,' she lamented. 'I tried to explain why I had to tell a Professor, but all he saw was the loss of a great broomstick! He stormed back up to his room as soon as Professor McGonagall said she would strip down the wood. Oh, Cassy, I feel awful for it, but I want him to be safe. Why doesn't he see that?'

'I reckon he does,' she said simply. She eyed a spot somewhere above Hermione's head as she thought for a second. 'However, it probably did not help that he is very angry at this time. Thinking and reacting sensibly on any occasion but under pressure is not always Harry's strong suit, in that sense, you and I are good for him and Neville, a bit of general direction in their lives.'

'I don't think you can call yourself sensible,' laughed Hermione thickly.

'Perhaps not,' said Cassy with a smile. 'I will rephrase and call myself an 'effective thinker' then. It gets the job done with minimal damage – most of the time.'

Hermione smiled weakly.

'What exactly did happen? How badly did he react?' asked Cassy.

'Er – well, Professor McGonagall came into the common room, Harry had been about to go for a test run on it, and she demanded he hand it over. I'm not sure what his face was like... I hid my own in a book... but when she had it he asked what could be wrong with it, he seemed more in shock than anything and then he got mad, saying he needed it for the upcoming game and I – I may have jumped up and scolded him...'

'You scolded him? Told him he was being foolish?'

'Yes,' Hermione nodded. 'I said I thought it had been sent by Sirius Black and that a game wasn't worth his life and to stop being pig-headed over it.'

Cassy's mouth formed a small 'o' before growing into a restrained smile. 'I bet he wasn't happy with that.'

'He stormed off upstairs and then we came to see you. I wonder if Neville's still down there. He looked mortified.'

Cassy's smile dropped slightly and she looked at Hermione sincerely.

'If he cannot forgive you for protecting him, then I truly have no hope,' said Cassy softly.

'It's all become a bit of a mess, hasn't it?' asked Hermione with her eyes shining brightly and her lip quivering.

Smiling sadly, Cassy nodded.

* * *

There was a low, loud ticking from the giant clock that hung high on the stone wall. Normally, it was drowned out by rumbustious voices and excited patters of feet darting between the cabinets, with loud clanking of cutlery and plates to compete. There was none of that then. The only sound that could be heard was the slow, periodic thuds of Cassy's boots hitting the cupboard door as she sat on the counter.

Her eyes were trained on her drink. The hot chocolate was steaming, sickeningly sweet and not aiding in the heaviness of her eyes or the sluggishness of her limbs. That feeling was becoming familiar, bitterly so, and her own skin seemed revolting. Her hands held steadier then than when she had walked in.

Hermione had fought with Harry that evening. It had been open, beginning with jabs made at dinner when Professor Flitwick had thought to bring up the Firebolt, mistakenly thinking Harry needed to be sure that they would be thorough with it, when he really needed assuring he would get it back in the same condition it arrived in. As Professor Flitwick babbled on, the rage in Harry's eyes began to show. The brilliant green blazed behind round spectacles. There was no time wasted trying to calm him down, instead Neville tried to shoo Hermione away. She would not go. She wished to hear everything he had to say and had more than a little to say on her own behalf; a blazing row erupted as soon as Sir Cadogan's portrait swung shut and no one won.

Neville's peace-keeping attempt was drowned out in the shouting and once Cassy had risen to Hermione's aid it only got worse, but it ended abruptly the moment Hermione burst into tears, sobbing as she fled to the dormitory. Cassy had turned on her heel without a word and left, depositing herself on the edge of Hermione's bed with a hand on her back awkwardly.

The thumping of her boots stopped immediately. Her head twisted in surprise, but she did not move. There was no point attempting to hide as the portrait moved aside. A moment of silence ensured.

'Professor,' said Cassy politely, nodding while Professor Lupin seemed to gather his bearings.

'Miss Black,' he replied slowly; his voiced cracked, thin and strained. 'I don't believe you should be here.'

'You may give me detention if you wish, Sir, it makes very little difference to me how I spend my time,' she said.

Cassy turned away and looked back down at her mug of hot chocolate, tilting the liquid in her hands. She was going to finish her drink before anyone sent her off to bed, though it seemed like that resolution did not matter, because Professor Lupin gave a huff and walked straight passed her towards the metal kettle.

'There is no use in a punishment that will have no effect,' he said, eyeing her from the corner of his vision. 'It looks as if a run up the staircase and you would keel over actually. I wouldn't want to be responsible for that, imagine the letter I'd get from your uncle.'

'You are one to talk, Sir. Should you not be resting? And you know my uncle?' said Cassy.

Professor Lupin did not look at her, but from where she sat on the counter she could see one of his eyebrows raise. He nodded slightly at her second question, ultimately concentrating on scooping many mounds of chocolate powder into his mug.

'Not personally, I heard quite a bit about him a long time ago,' he said.

Silence then fell between them, with only the ticking of the clock and the building whistle of the kettle on the stove sounding. Cassy watched him out the corner of her eye, taking in the way his own gaze lingered on the mug and his lips drew into a thin line for a moment, before seemingly discarding the thought and relaxing his muscles again. He stirred the milk and powder noisily. The kettle let out a screech. It was removed from the flame and the boiled water tipped into the mug. Cassy looked away, glancing around as Professor Lupin laid down the spoon and moved back to lean against the island counter.

'Can I ask why you're in the kitchens at this time of night, Cassy?' he said.

If he noticed the way Cassy's eye twitched at the familiar use of her name, he did not comment. Indeed, he had used it before in class, but his friendly tone never normally extended past the classroom and Cassy was not sure she appreciated his attempt at appearing to genuinely care.

'You can,' she responded, taking a sip from her own mug.

There was a pause before Professor Lupin asked, 'May I ask?'

'I cannot sleep,' admitted Cassy after a moment.

'I can see that,' he said calmly, 'but why? You were fine and then suddenly grew ill.'

Charming, thought Cassy with a frown. She knew she looked slightly worse for wear, her eyes shadowed by insomnia and her stomach churned from what she was not sure. Hunger or guilt – worry, shame, she could not find the right word for it – she did not know, she simply knew that it flipped and bubbled when her mind began reeling.

She met Professor Lupin's eye, he did not look away.

'What does it matter? It will not impact on class, I assure you,' she said.

'Perhaps you should see Madam Pomfrey, she will give you something to help you sleep,' he said, disregarding her icy tone completely. 'I take it you have had a fight with your friends from your attitude.'

Cassy fixed him with a minor glare, only barely narrowing her eyes into a disproving, challenging stare. Normally, she would not have bothered, she would have kept her face neutral and ignored him, but she found she did not care at that moment. Detention would give her something else to do with her time. However, Professor Lupin appeared incapable of rising to her.

'You remind me of someone I used to know,' he said slowly. There was a huff of a half-hearted laugh and he shook his head. 'When they were upset, they would always keep it in until it became only anger. They rarely accepted help – very self-destructive at points too, but, I'm sure you have more sense than that...' There was an odd tone in his voice as he spoke, one Cassy had heard before. His eyes were not on her any more, instead they were focused on the tiles on the wall, or perhaps beyond them; he did not appear to see anything at all. 'He never would accept when he was wrong-'

'If I have wronged for being born then I cannot apologise enough to ever correct it, short of taking my own life,' interrupted Cassy harshly.

Professor Lupin flinched and swung his head around to her, frowning deeply. He bit out, 'Don't talk like that.'

'Do not make me then,' she said lowly. The bite was not out of her words and she stared at him fiercely and he did so back equally.

'So, this is about that then, your family,' he said; it was not a question. 'You've argued over it with a friend.'

'It is none of your concern,' she said, clasping the cup in her hand tighter.

Professor Lupin leant one arm on the island behind him, placing his mug down and entwining his finger tightly.

'Friends will come around no matter where you are from, no matter what your ailments.'

'I suppose you would know that first hand,' she muttered into her mug.

Professor Lupin flinched again, his face then fixed in harsh stare. Cassy would have felt guilty, but her eyes were sore, her limbs heavy and there was a dull ache in the back of her mind. Her hands trembled with weakness and her gut burned with irritation that he could simply _not let it go_.

'I cannot hide my shame, Professor. I live with it every day and I cannot escape it. At least for you, it is once a month that you are monstrous. My thoughts, my ideals, they are part of how I have been raised, not my blood, but people fail to see that. On the surface they see a Black, with you they see an ordinary human. They only see power, and deceit, and _madness_ when they look at me.'

'You think you are hard done by?' said Professor Lupin heavily. His face was neutral, but with voice was laden with blame and anger, so much that it almost made Cassy squirm. 'Miss Black, you do not know the meaning of being hard done by. You have had many things in life, you have friends that care for you enough that, despite your reputation, were there for you. Even if they might not be now, they will always be there for you when it comes down to it. Perhaps it is you giving up on them. Perhaps the issue is that you are cynical and expect the worst in everyone and so that is what you get, because when I look around the people that surround you in class, or at dinner, I see they don't give a damn who you are. Your name is only as bad as what you make it and when I first saw you I did not think you were someone to lay down and let things pass you by, but if you are giving up now at the age of fourteen then I severely misjudged your character.'

Cassy stared awkwardly as Professor Lupin picked up his cup and gulped down the still steaming liquid, sighing to himself as if the action had relieved a mountain of stress. His shoulders sagged and he almost looked guilty when he looked at her, shrinking a bit more as Cassy looked away.

'I'm sorry,' he said gently. 'However, I won't take back what I said. I meant it, I just wish it had not come out like that. Just wait for them to come around, I'm sure he will.'

Without turning to regard him, Cassy thought through what he had said. Perhaps it was true that she sort the worst in people and expected them to dislike her from the start. It would not be wrong to assume she had done so with Ron, or even sceptical of Harry when they first met, but she simply could not stop herself. The stares and the comments through her life at her name, the refusal for other children to go near her and leaving her to her own devices through the days when she was in the care of another beside Alphard; it was difficult to think that those children had not retained those thoughts. She frowned slightly and peered at him without turning her head. Professor Lupin was all ready watching.

'What if I am tired of waiting?' she asked softly. She did not ask how he knew it regarded Harry.

'Then you either choose to persevere or move on,' he said simply. 'Who else knows, by the way, about my condition?'

'Just Hermione and I. We never discussed it, but we know the other knows. It was rather simple, especially once Professor Snape set the essay.'

'I knew he set it hoping someone would figure it out,' he said with a sigh. 'Why have you not told your other friends?'

Cassy raised an eyebrow and said, 'It hardly matters to them. It does not harm them, nor have they asked. I do not particularly care if you are a werewolf, so I do not have need to spread it around.'

'Thank-you,' he said with a smile. 'Although, your perception of werewolves are a bit out. There is a lot more to it that simply being effected once a month, yet not as much as some books would have you believe. Maybe you should look into it a bit more to fill your time more constructively, there are some good books out there.'

Cassy blinked lazily at him. She knew that, it was not really the point she was trying to make about him. All the laws and regulations regarding work and housing for werewolves were things she had seen in passing and she was rather affronted that he thought she would not know that. It must have shown on her face, for he backtracked slightly.

'It was just a thought,' he said, waving one hand in defence.

'How is it that you are employed in a school?' she asked, fully aware the question bordered on rude.

Professor Lupin did not seem to mind. He explained that he had to take the Wolfsbane potion in the upcoming days to a full moon and that it allowed him to keep control of his body, meaning that should he ever run into a student while transformed, it would not be so much of an issue.

Cassy sat and listened with fascination. She had heard of the potion when researching the essay for Professor Snape, but seeing as it was an exceedingly difficult potion to make there was not much information on it in the library, nor on any other forms of suppressant. Professor Lupin laughed as she shot questions at him and answered each one to the best of his knowledge.

'Have you ever thought to look these up yourself instead of letting them fester in your head?' he asked when he could get a word in in-between her rapid fire.

'This is a school. The information is either basic, out-dated, or wrong on subjects like this,' she answered blandly and Professor Lupin laughed again.

'That is true,' he said.

'I thought about asking my uncle Alphard, seeing as he is a potioneer and will most likely be familiar with it, but with my post being checked I thought it might arouse suspicion with such an odd request.'

Professor Lupin nodded. He finished off his drink and said, 'While on that subject, the checks on your belongings are done. They came out clean. It didn't take long, but Harry's broomstick will be a while yet because of the enchantments it possesses anyway... that song in your jewellery box... have you heard it before?'

Cassy shook her head. 'Have you?'

'No, no,' he said after a moment of looking pensive. He smiled and laughed slightly, making Cassy frown. As soon as he noticed he plucked the mug from her hands and took it together with his over to the sink. 'I think you should head off to bed now anyway. It's very late and I wouldn't be much of a teacher if I left you here when I retreated. Try not to get caught by anyone and pop by my office tomorrow to get your things.'

After a moment, Cassy slid off the side and readjusted her dressing gown. She bid him good-night, eyeing him with an inquisitive expression and he returned it with a wave.

'Oh, and Cassy?' he said when her foot was out the portrait hole. 'Do try and cheer up a bit.'

* * *

**Thanks to Val3 who reminded me it had been so long since I updated. I was trying to get used to the times of my new timetable and my work load, so the story took a back seat in my mind. Anyway, I expect I will update every two weeks. That's likely to be the earliest at this point as all my deadlines are early this semester. **

**This chapter was not intended to be this long, but here it is. Originally, Lupin was not supposed to get mad at Cassy and have a go, but I felt like she needed to be told to get over herself by someone who has it worse than she does. She's a cynical character with every right to be so and I love that about her, yet sometimes you need to give them a little kick in the teeth and this was it, haha.**

**Another thing some of you may have noticed is that Cassy does not deal with stress well all the time, at least not when it concerns people she cares about. When I am stressed I cannot sleep, so I added that in, because while she is not pining after Harry and trying to win their friendship back, she certainly is feeling the loss. I hope it wasn't too dramatic, I tried not to put too much emphasis on it. Harry is also stressed and upset and he explodes normally, so I hope that was written okay as well, I don't normally like to write him angry. I seem to write him joyful, for some reason.**

**Thanks!**


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